Lionel Messi has described his start at his former club PSG as ‘extremely difficult.’ He also considers two consecutive failures in the Champions League as a ‘major disappointment.’

Before moving to the United States to play for Inter Miami, Lionel Messi opened up about his two years of ups and downs at PSG. He shared with beIN Sports: “I came to Paris because I liked PSG as a team, because I had friends in the dressing room there… There was another destination where I could have gone, where I might have adapted more easily.

In reality, adapting at PSG was a much more difficult process than I had imagined… There, I had to get used to a new way of operating, new teammates, life in a new city. I arrived late, I didn’t have much time to prepare before the season. The start was really tough for me, and for my family.”

Messi experienced several disappointing matches in France.

At PSG, Messi won two Ligue 1 titles. However, for him, that wasn’t enough. In his first season, he scored 11 goals in 34 matches for PSG. The following season became more challenging after he contracted Covid-19 during the winter break in Argentina, meaning he had to sit out for a month.

In the subsequent season, Messi integrated more quickly and made more contributions. However, his stellar performance during the World Cup 2022 with the Argentine national team also interrupted his explosive form at the club.

The 36-year-old superstar admitted, “It took me time to regain form after the World Cup in Qatar. That’s not an excuse, but the World Cup played a big role in my career. Some returned later than others, some were injured, like Neymar. I think, overall, the rhythm of Ligue 1 and the Champions League was affected by the World Cup.”

Messi also acknowledged the heavy disappointments of the losses to Real Madrid in the 2021/22 Champions League and Bayern Munich in the 2022/23 Champions League. Therefore, fans had reasons to react negatively toward him.

“At first, it was great, I received a lot of encouragement from the fans,” Messi emphasized. “But then, a part of the PSG fanbase treated me differently. The majority treated me well, but there was a crack with a portion.”