Lionel Messi, a seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, had returned to Paris after guiding his country to a World Cup, last year.
There was a guard of honour from the players and jokes with former Barcelona teammate Neymar but then began a nightmare.
The 36-year-old was booed at every touch of the ball by the fans at Paris Saint-Germain – his own club. Thousands of fans jeered at the Argentine, with the slurs and abuses getting louder when he went to take corner kicks.
All of it is over now.
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Messi has a new jersey, a new team and a stadium full of fans chanting his name as he weaves his magic on the field with nonchalant alacrity.
He is back among goals and his smile, unlike a discombobulated frown, has returned. On Thursday, the Argentine star talked to the local media for the first time since joining the Major League Soccer side, Inter Miami.
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“It’s beautiful how the Inter people come to the matches to support us. The stadium is always full when we play at home,” he says.
“We played in Dallas the other day. To play away and the people welcomed me, they embraced me -- I’m grateful and happy for the moment I’m living and especially because I’m enjoying playing. That’s what I liked all my life and to do it this way.”
BARCELONA, SPAIN - AUGUST 08: Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona faces the media during a press conference at Nou Camp on August 08, 2021 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images) | Photo Credit: Eric Alonso
Messi left Barcelona in tears as the club plunged into a financial crisis to join PSG on two-year contract. Though he won three major titles at the Ligue 1 club (two league titles and one French Super Cup), the Parc des Princes could never be his colosseum and neither could he be their King.
Looking back, Messi says, the move to the French capital was an unplanned one.
“I did not want to join PSG. It was neither planned nor desired. That was decided overnight,” he says.
“I wanted to stay in Barcelona but I had to go and get used to a different place very quickly – a place very different from the one I had lived, in terms of the city and the sport. It was difficult.”
“But now it’s quite the opposite here,” he adds,“ I took many things into consideration for my decision. We thought it over with my wife and my sons. They took part in my decision-making.
“But I don’t think much about that. I am here just to play, to continue enjoying football, which I have loved all my life.”
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Flashes of Pele to New York Cosmos
Messi’s move to the MLS has flashes of the arrival of another football legend in the United States – Pele.
The Brazilian, another FIFA World Cup winner from South America, joined a North American side, the New York Cosmos, in 1974 and boosted the popularity of the sport more than any footballer could in the continent.
He did not just help the team win the Soccer Bowl (in 1977) but also inspired more global stars to join the North American league, with World Cup winners Carlos Alberto and Franz Beckenbauer joining him at the club.
Pele at New York Cosmos
The first leg of the Soccer Bowl quarterfinals, featuring Pele, saw an attendance of 77,891 – a record then.
The arrival of Messi also saw Inter Miami sign two FIFA World Cup winners, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba. And the Argentine’s second goal for Inter Miami against Atlanta United became one of the most-watched live events in the history of the USA, with a viewership of 3.4 billion.
“Ever since I arrived, the welcome has been impressive. It’s a city with many Latinos, and that’s why everything is easier. The Latinos are much closer, much more demonstrative, always showing affection and closeness,” he says.
“I think that is the most important, the healthiest and the most beautiful thing in order to be able to settle in and enjoy what you do.”
Just like Pele’s tale with the Cosmos in the Soccer Bowl 46 years ago, Messi is on his way to securing a trophy for Inter Miami, with the team set to play in the final of the Leagues Cup 2023.
A new dawn for Inter Miami
When Messi moved from PSG to Inter Miami, his fans were left bamboozled by the disparity of the positions of PSG and his next destination.
PSG was the defending Ligue 1 champion while Inter Miami was grovelling at the bottom of the Eastern Conference with no wins in its last 10 games.
A little over a month later, it has beaten Orlando City, FC Dallas and Charlotte FC in the Leagues Cup knockouts, has won six consecutive matches and has progressed to the final of the competition.
Messi has been at the cynosure of attack. He has nine goals in seven games and has found the net in every game he has played.
“From the very start of this competition, we knew we had to start from zero with a new coach and new players joining the team such as myself. From day one, we are doing very well,” he says.
“It was an opportunity to start changing things after the last result of the team (a 0-3 loss to St. Louis) and how the team was in the league.”
The 36-year-old also added that the inclusion of Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino as the head coach also helped a lot. Martino is a legend at Messi’s boyhood club Newell’s Old Boys and has also managed the Argentine at Barcelona, winning the Spanish Super Cup in 2013.
“We played Mexican teams with a very high level from Liga MX. It’s a very competitive league with great players. We have to take this opportunity to continue growing,” Messi adds.
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Inter Miami will play Nashville SC in the Leagues Cup final – a side that sits 11 spots above Messi’s side in the MLS. But the Argentine hopes he can help the side win its first-ever silverware since its inception in 2018.
“It would be amazing, wouldn’t it? Both for me and for all the people who are fans of the club, for the club itself,” he said.
“We want to be a point of reference and winning a title would help a lot in that. It is a very young club, it has been around for a very short time, and to win our first title would be great for all of us.”
Messi is no more in Barcelona colours now. He is not a Parisian either. The mention of both clubs on his lips has the phrase ‘ complicado’ attached to it, which translates to complicated.
For Inter Miami, it’s just ‘ facil’, meaning easy.
The veteran from the streets of Rosario has had a tumultuous few years in Europe. But Messi has finally found peace – on the field, amidst fans with a ball to his feet. And it’s his name, instead of boos, echoing through the stadium this time around.
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