"The neighbours bothered us" - Lionel Messi opens up on incident involving his kids that made life 'difficult' in Paris
Lionel Messi has revealed that his neighbours were irked by his kids playing football when he moved to Paris following his transfer to PSG from Barcelona in 2021. The Argentine moved to PSG after the Blaugrana were unable to register him in Spain due to their financial worries.
The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner featured in 778 games across all competitions of the Spanish outfit, scored a whopping 67 goals and managed 269 assists. His move saw him reunite with former Barcelona teammate Neymar Jr. Furthermore, it also saw him pair up with one of the most prolific youngsters in world football, Kylian Mbappe.
However, his move didn't lead to what the the fans had hoped for. While Messi managed 32 goals and 34 assists in 75 appearances across all competitions, some of them really crucial, the club did not go on to get success in the Champions League.
His stint with the Parisians was more or less marred with injuries, but if the Argentine's words are to be believed, there was an external factor at play as well. During a recent interview, he revealed that his kids playing football in the backyard annoyed his neighbours.
Here's what he told ESPN:
"In Paris, the [neighbours] knocked on the door at nine or ten o’clock in the evening to say that my kids shouldn’t be playing football. The neighbours bothered us […] it played a lot on my mind and that had an effect on the pitch. In Paris, on a personal level, I wasn’t good."
The World Cup winner stated that his move didn't go as planned and he also struggled with change after moving to PSG. He added:
"I have nothing against them but unfortunately, it didn’t go as I had hoped. Personally, I struggled with the change; it was very difficult for us. It really affected me personally. When I was in Paris, the best thing that happened to me was becoming World Champion (with Argentina)."
Lionel Messi will feature in Argentina's squad as they defend their Copa America title in USA, starting June 20.
What are Lionel Messi's stats for Argentina in Copa America
Argentina is tied with Uruguay as the South American nation with the most Copa America titles (15). Argentina have played 202 matches in the tournament, winning 127, drawing 42, and losing 33. They have also scored 474 goals.
As for the former Barcelona talisman, he has appeared in 34 Copa America games, netting 13 goals, which included three penalties and four free-kicks. Argentina are the defending champions, having won the title in 2021, a triumph came after 28 years. Argentina beat Brazil in the final, with Angel di Maria scoring the sole goal in the game.
Messi's second international trophy came just a year after, when Argentina defeated France 4-2 on penalties to lift the World Cup title. They won the World Cup for the first time after 1986.
The Argentine scored seven goals in the tournament, of which two came in the final against France.