For those who say Lionel Messi did not perform particularly very well at Paris Saint-Germain, this is our take on it. We believe Messi was not the leader of the team and was not the focal point of the squad. The team was built around Kylian Mbappé.
Former PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino has also come out to confirm this. In an interview with The Overlap, Pochettino explained that Messi wanted to play slower football, control the rhythm, and focus on passing combinations, while Mbappé preferred quick transitions, direct attacking football, and spaces behind defenders.
According to the former PSG coach, whenever attempts were made to play in a way that suited Messi more, Mbappé would complain because the styles were completely different.
When Messi arrived at PSG, he had already conquered almost everything possible in club football. Softfootball believes he no longer looked interested in forcing the team to fully adapt around him.
Instead, Messi appeared willing to take the back seat and support Mbappé, rather than engage in any supremacy battle with the younger star.
Messi was never going to arrive at a club with Mbappé already established and begin dragging for control of the dressing room or tactical system. What he did instead was adjust himself and try to help the team.
However, despite having Messi, Mbappé, and other stars, PSG still failed to achieve their biggest objective at the time, which was winning the UEFA Champions League.
Now fast forward to the 2025/26 season under Luis Enrique, PSG are playing according to a system the coach fully believes in, and the performances have clearly improved.
Softfootball points to PSG winning the 2024/25 Champions League and now qualifying for the 2025/26 Champions League final as proof that having a clear football structure and identity matters more than simply assembling superstar names together.
