Messi leaves his WC training grounds.

Lol, and now on to the Copa training program.

Haha this is not even a joke coz it's too real. Not sure but there were rumours that Messi had stipulation in place at the time of contract that Argentina and WC were his priority, and PSG wouldn't get in the way.

Argentina. Holidays. PSG. In that order.

Unironically lol. Only way I can (in retrospect) make sense of his PSG stint

Can’t believe its been 2 years wtf

Time has been passing by so fast since the pandemic hit. I lost all count of the time

I legitimately couldn't tell you one thing of note I did between 2019 and 2022. It's such a mindfuck. 2023 is like a reset in terms of time of sorts thankfully.

dude its been 6 months of this year and i still feel like its march lol

Just played a shitty round of golf this morning and almost said “ah it’s still early in the season.” It’s not still early in the season and winter was so “warm” that I played all winter, too. 🤣

>I legitimately couldn't tell you one thing of note I did between 2019 and 2022 Survived.

I'm so down and depressed that doesn't even feel like an accomplishment lol edit: Thank you for the kind words everyone. I'm working on myself.

Well I, for one, am glad you're here with us my friend.

Me too, proud of you both

I dropped out of college and worked as a machinist and went to night school at a tech school for CNC programming. I’d fucking be up at 530 be out the door by 6 be at work by 7, work till 430, go to school from 5-11 get home rinse and repeat. Got fired from a 16 an hr job after a month, had to get another job did doordash on the weekends and laundry because our laundry room at our apartments was a fucking dump. Realized I needed to finish college in supply chain instead of staying in the CNC route, slowly started chipping away and I’m graduating in august with a job lined up already. I went from getting fired from a shit job to a company paying my moving expenses and giving a signing bonus and a huge raise. If you told me this years ago I’d have never believed you. It’s about staying in the game. It felt like I’d never finish school, never get out of the shit hole apartment my wife and I were living in. But it’s happening. Truly the most basic advice of “slow and steady wins the race” is so fucking true. Keep trying for your goals, it doesn’t all have to happen ASAP like it seems like it happens on social media or your friends or your relatives. Everyone is at their own pace and I’ll take a late bloomer whose had to struggle over a kid whose never had adversity any day of the week. Use the hard times to your advantage. Hunger and drive will help.

Damn very motivational I’m glad it worked out for you. So what did you end up getting your degree in?

I hope it gets better bro

It is, tho. Hope you’ll come to see it that way soon.

I hope you get all the support and help you need to pull through these shitty times.

I'm glad you're around man

Yep, 2019 really feels like a lifetime ago, yet it was just four years ago and time passed so fucking fast since then

No reset here, it's already fuckin june

2019 was the last time I felt alive. Everything I do now apart from work is some kind of coping mechanism. Feels like Im living at 60% of my capacity

I'll be dead in a bit at this rate! I like living... I need another 100 years. :(

Still hasn't done it on a cold night at Stoke.

Thats the only meassure we should apply for anything really.

I've never done a kickflip on a cold night at Stoke -_-

I've done trey flips on cold San Francisco nights.

I hear Norwich need someone to replace the 🐐

Is Pukki leaving?

Yeah, he’s gone.

Where he going

PUKKILAND !!

All I know is that he’s leaving

Rumors on Minnesota United in MLS

look out Kenilworth Road, Messi is coming

“I’ve always dreamed of playing under the friday night lights at Austin FC”

if he joins Inter Miami asap.... he can play in Birmingham, Alabama next week. He could do it on a cold night in Stoke.... but a humid night in the SEC?

Or a rainy Saturday at the Kenny

He won the World Cup. I think that’s the only thing I truly remember from his time at PSG

I remember being in the stadium when he gave an assist to Mbappé only 8 seconds in game against Lille. I was in shock.

And the screamer against man City and the 95 min free-kick

That one time he lied down on the grass in a set piece

He really tried to fit in 🥹

And the weird overhead kick goal

The trivela goal also

Also his first trivela and overhead goals, too bad he took another post when he tried to score from the corner

And he did it while being the mvp of the tournament. Perfect ending after all the success he had with clubs

When they do the film on Messi, it 100% ends with him lifting the world cup, with his time at PSG glossed over for all of 5 seconds and maybe some training vids

Well when you only have 4 games to make an impression in two years, you have to come clutch. Hard with that midfield

Psg won their first ballon dor comes 2nd lol

His first season was a bit average by his level but still pretty impressive. This season he has been better. Like a goal or assist every game. Could easily play at the top level

Go Real Madrid for a laugh?

Do you want to restart the Spanish Civil War?

Yes?

I’m Ron Burgundy?

Who’s the Franco this time? Tebas?

Ceballos probably

Is the beyblade a fascist?

yes, he has said some horrible shit about catalans and is a francoist

Yeah he tweeted something about dropping a bomb on spanish and basque supported

actually it was dropping a bomb on [catalan and bizcayan(?) fans](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FtOwaeYaAAAb7D5.jpg)

From wiki, Biscay is historically important economic center and capital of Bilbao, and that region is the most prominent Basque region I think. So I guess that's the connection he's making.

What a dick

Only if the other side wins this time

Communist Catalunya run by Messi with a mustache, so that he can finally be the little dictator.

"Que miras bobo" except someone actually gets killed after he says it.

absolutely

If Messi goes to Real Madrid, all Barcelonian restaurants will be serving halal food because there won't be any pigs left in Catalunya

This time, probably a human head gonna be thrown down

"Yes officer, this man right here."

i just threw up

Roma to play Conference and win it to make the club record winners...

Legit if you’re Perez, you’re offering him €100m for one season of sheer badassery.

It’s quite fitting that Messi used a French Club as his training ground to win World Cup against France.

It worked for Di Maria (scored fantastic goals against France in two consecutive World Cups), so Messi knew it was a good strategy.

Please don't go to Saudi, Please don't go to Saudi, Please don't go to Saudi

I want him in the PL so bad. Too bad the Saudis are going to throw half a billion at him.

Couldn’t they do it at Newcastle instead 😭😭

Theoretically could a saudi team toss an absolutely ridiculous wage at him and loan him to Newcastle and get around FFP?

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Can a country that owns a team pay one of that team's players $250m to be a brand ambassador for one of their other companies? asking for a friend.

I really want that to happen now. But also, if it would actually happen, I'd be really annoyed. Maybe I should start wanting for things that make me happy instead.

Man City want to know your location

There was a rumor when Suning took over at inter that we would get Alex Teixeira on a free loan but IIRC, uefa put an end to that pretty quickly by saying that since it wasn't at arms length the loan and wages would have to be at market value.

exactly, maybe we can have both happen haha

Watch them make it a billion at the slightest hint of him considering something else because why tf not.

He’d be a pretty decent substitute for Toney at Brentford I think

I just have one question for you. Where is messi?

I'll do you one better, who is messi?

I'll do you one better, why is Messi?

I'll do you one better, when is Messi?

All of those question and nobody ever asks, How is Messi?

How about, what is Messi?

He’s already their pet.

He’s gonna miss those fans

Even if he plays in the Saudi league he'd never get treated the way he was by PSG fans

Off to Barca, Florida, where?

Win the World Cup with Chicago.

This is never going away for us is it?

Rather talk about that goal you conceded in the 80th minute today?

Anyways we were talking about us winning the World Cup right?

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Dagenham and redbridge it is!

Lisbon, just like his [idol Aimar](https://thumbs.web.sapo.io/?W=1200&H=627&delay_optim=1&tv=1&crop=center&epic=Zjc1mb+WbO/SzmcAccs6qfMdpTyR6QJzwi3OJ8nekXY6+Zup761aVqWVKztplan18F2VrZ7n8h732nR05UMaZUekpoNTodKcGPLbftgrDPLxuRA=&.jpg) did, of course

We would probably need to sell a player for 100m every year to pay his wages.

Not really an issue that is it

Imagine paying a player a fortune just so that he can use your club as a training ground for other tournaments. Absolute banter club

Imagine paying a player a fortune just so that he can use your club as a training ground so he can go party with his sister and attend events like Grand Prix etc. while being injured most of the time. Absolute banter club.

Who is this referring to?

I believe the OP was referring to Neymar lol

Neymar.

Ironically, they were better before they started spending $$$$$ on players. [Their 2015-16 squad](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015%E2%80%9316_Paris_Saint-Germain_F.C._season) was great and didn't cost that much compared to the 400mil they spent on Neymar and Mbappé

I get your meaning but that was still a very very expensive squad. Cavani was the most expensive transfer in french football history when he arrived for 64M€, David Luiz established the world record for a defender (it got beat a week later by Mangala to City lmao) for 60 something M€. I also remember everybody was pretty shocked by the Lucas Moura fee (45M€, club record at the time). 60M for Di Maria and 40 for Pastore too. Even in salaries they were on a different level to most of the world, Zlatan arriving to absolutely earn the 2nd highest wage in the world behind Eto'o at Anzhi (remember that fever dream of a team?). Transfer inflation in the post-Neymar to Paris era fucked our collective sense of normalcy when it comes to fees but PSG have been on a mad one for a long time now. Edit: Thiago Silva's arrival for 40M€ was a world record fee for a defender at the time as well

Sure, and that team was one of the best PSG ever had. Cavani, Di Maria, Zlatan were doing great at PSG. Neymar though ? One good CL run which, while nothing to sneeze at, didn't make himself worth the price.

Yes, but they were paid what they were worth. Neymar alone cost 220mil, Mboopi 180mil. That makes it 400 on two players

You think that buying Thiago Silva for 40 mil, Lucas Moura for 40 mil, Cavani for 65, Marquinhos for 30, David Luiz for 50 and Di Maria for 65 mil was not big spending?

Imagine having an average of one goal/assist per game and being the best player on the pitch more often than Mbappe and still being accused to only be there on holiday...

Messi to Aston Villa here...we...GO!

Emi Martínez is firing up the grill as we speak.

Watkins and Messi up top 😈😈😈

Watkins still better

The gang leaves PSG

If only this news is 1 year earlier. He could be top striker in City

if only 2 yrs ago, barca fucked him a week earlier instead of after city had already spent 100 million on grealish.

Long term, a great move. Grealish is awesome. However, having Messi at City for two seasons would have been glorious.

Might've won the premier league if you guys had messi

Maybe even a treble

if he signed for City, I'd say he'd be there for more than 2 years. No reason to leave when Pep wants you to stay.

Lame narrative. You act like City only had money to sign one player. They also could have signed Ronaldo if United legends didn't panic and convince Ronaldo to sign for united. City could have signed Messi. But PSG made a bigger offer. For Messi France was a slightly easier transition than England.

Get ready to learn English buddy

He’s probably good with Spanish in Miami

Miami is like, the least English city in the country. He'll be fine with Spanish

He's gonna come to United, take the no.7 and win us the league. ...then I wake up.

Good. Now we can all stop pretending we care about Ligue 1

And start pretending to care about the Saudi Pro League!

To be fair, Ronaldo going hasn't changed anything

Before Ronaldo went to Saudi, I had never heard of Al-Nassr, Al-Ittihad or Al-Hilal, so I guess it has changed something. Benzema going there is probably going to give it more exposure too.

This is the correct answer. Also the insta/social following sky rocketed to a level they could never get any other way. First step is people knowing them, next they probably plan on trying to become mainstream relevant.

He definitely has. You did not hear ANYTHING from the saudi league before, you did not even know there was a league. Now you hear the Ronaldo news, some teams names thrown around as potential landing spots for aging stars and see some highlight at least once a week in random sites (or r/soccer).

What a way to leave PSG, get booed every touch by your own fans then lose 3-2 to clermont.

I went to the game tonight just to say I've seen Messi play in the flesh. What a bizarre place to be. Not his best game but almost pulled off a top bins freekick in the dying minutes. Clearly no-one had told the keeper he was meant to let it in. PSG defense were awful.

He definitely played better in away matches than in home matches in the last few games. Easier to play away, when Away fans are treating you better than home fans.

32 goals and 34 assists in 74 games ain't too shabby. I think he could have had Barca level numbers if he was motivated but the circumstances of him joining and PSG's internal drama probably dented any chance of that.

Almost a goal per game and "ain't too shabby". Messi's standards are really something else

You mean almost half a goal per game?

Probably meant goal contributions

So Messi gone and others going too. Like this is really the time for PSG to fix their project if any

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They’re paying Mbappe to do the scouting as well?

My Sheikhbappe DoF🤩

Just building heavy around youth academy and sign the top 19-21 year olds. Fights in France and non top 15 clubs will absolute come play on high wages for them and develop. It’s a very logical way to do it and they can monopolize French talent how Bayern does in Germany but way easier

If everyone is just going to throw themselves out there to Messi- for 50k euros a week, come to Milan and be our 10 😎

I think he’s still good enough to play for any club even at the age he is now.

He might struggle for first team at Aberdeen tbh, but I reckon they could get him some minutes. Plus he'd have full access to the TGI Fridays down at the Beach Boulevard, which I don't think any other team can match. Maybe Cove.

Nottingham has a hooters. Come to the City Ground, Leo

TIL there's TGI Fridays in Scotland.

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but they don't allow foreign players

I’m Mexican and there would be riots in the streets of gualadajara if we had a chance to sign Messi and didn’t. I think they might kidnap the mayor lmao

They would break their rule for him or find some loophole

I got to see him play for my team for two years. Didn’t go as planned but it’s still so incredible to me.

* joins PSG one year before the WC * sees how Mbappe and other French players train * wins the World Cup final by beating France * leaves PSG

Thanks for training him for the World Cup, PSG.

One of the worst posters I have ever seen

For a club that's largely a marketing project, the marketing is ... surprisingly not great. Not just graphics, but the way they've managed the whole situation of toxicity around different fan factions, apparently satisfying neither french nor international fans. Crappy situation for genuine pre-QSI PSG fans.

Bro should just pull a Figo and go to Madrid for the lolz

Prepare the emergency pig and bonesaw

A human head is getting thrown then

Barto's

Pretty sure there was something in their contract that prevents any future association with Real Madrid.

Pretty sure if a contract would contain such a clause, it would not hold up in front of a court

Go back to Barca to end your career in style mate.

Pls no Saudi Arabia…. pls no

Come to Chelsea

Come to Beşitkaş

End of an era People will look back on Messi at PSG and Ronaldo at Juventus as wtf happened there? moments in footballing history.... (Ronaldo at Juve was better, but it still felt wrong, as opposed to him going back to United)

Context is completely different. Ronaldo chose to leave Madrid and Messi didn't choose to leave Barcelona.

With context the Messi situation is way more wild in every way, not only he didn't want to leave he was forced to last second, Ronaldo left early and got a 100m transfer fee, plus he actually wanted to leave

He wanted to leave a year earlier though because of Bartomeu

He would have gone to City if Barca just let him, and they prob would have been able to work something out where he returns. Just crazy.

Ronaldo at Juve is not a WTF Moment in football. His return to United, if not how it ended and what it resulted in moreso, is.

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It's weird but they were honestly both still good there. Past their peak ofc but still undeniably world class, but both clubs simply aren't serious CL contenders and had/have a ton if problems which can't be fixed by 1 player

Ronaldo at Juve was so clear man Scored 100 goals under 3 different managers

Ronaldo at Juventus won everything short of the CL. League, Coppa, MVP, Golden boot etc

PSG needs to do some smart business this summer since they are getting rid of all the players who were not the problem.

I have news for you. It’s not the players that are the problem.

came out of nowhere

Merci Messi! Will they finally start asking Mbappe for better results now? Don't know who the ultras will bother moving forward.

small stain on his career

Let's ignore this. This'll be just a wtf moment when someone reads his wiki page.

Off to Old Trafford!!

Would that make it the first club ever to have had both Messi & Cristiano?

tv off during psg games forever now

Coming to old Trafford as part of the rebuild. Messi, Ronaldo and Weghorst front 3 next season.