Live: Superstar Lionel Messi officially unveiled at PSG

Lionel Messi can really smile again. And how: What was unimaginable for many for a long time, after a little test of patience for the fans of Paris Saint-Germain, suddenly came to an end. “Is there anything better than that ??” asked the English ex-soccer star David Beckham. Hardly: Messi will play for PSG until at least the end of June 2023 – he is now the superstar in a team full of stars. With an option for another season for the now 34-year-old Argentinian.

Messi will be presented at a press conference this Wednesday morning. It should also be a show to the fans' liking after PSG finally staged the day of the arrival of the six-time world footballer perfectly.

• Messi's presentation live:

“He made no secret of the fact that he wants to continue playing at the highest level and win trophies. And our ambitions as a club are the same,” said PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi. Messi's commitment is likely to be the masterpiece of the 47-year-old businessman from Qatar regardless of the engagement of a Neymar in the summer of 2017 for the record transfer of 222 million euros or a Kylian Mbappé a year later for 145 million euros.

An “extraordinary” team

Now these three exceptional players – if Mbappé stays – can form the new super-magical triangle of world football. PSG wrote of an “exceptional team that promises incredible football moments in the years to come”. It will now also be the exciting task for coach Mauricio Pochettino – Argentines like Messi – to make this ensemble an unbeatable team.

European champion Gianluigi Donnarumma in goal, his national team colleague Marco Verratti, the former Real Madrid icon Sergio Ramos – there are only three more from a seemingly endless row of top players. Quite a few feel reminded of the Galactics of Real in the early 2000s – only with asterisks thanks to Messi, whose contract signing was confirmed by PSG late Tuesday evening.

✍️❤️💙 #PSGxMESSI pic.twitter.com/aSGpMhjp2O

– Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) August 10, 2021

From the departure at home in Castelldefels near Barcelona, the flight with his wife and three sons in a private jet, the view from the plane of Paris and the Eiffel Tower, the arrival in Le Bourget, the transfer with escort to the medical check – all captured in pictures . Previously, PSG – in the media, the agreement had long been a deal – fueled curiosity with Einspielers.

Messi joined the club for the first time in his professional career free of charge. He moved to Barcelona from Rosario at the age of 13. “La Pulga” (The Flea), as they quickly called it, suffered from stunted growth. Barça paid for the treatment. 21 years later, the dream connection ended after 35 joint titles. The rules of financial fair play in the Spanish league did not allow a continuation, according to the official representation of the club, which was in debt with almost 490 million euros.