If only Lionel Messi didn’t miss that penalty against Real in the Champions League match. Maybe this article, along with many others in the foreign press would come much later. But, unfortunately he did, and now, he is (again) the center of attention and for the wrong reasons. Since his sensational transfer to Paris Saint Germain, the Argentinian has showed very little in France, which has the worst league among the European Top 5. The question is: are we witnessing a final decline of the 34-year old, or we can find other reasons for his bad form? Angry Aguero: ‘French newspapers are a**holes’Let’s start with the statistics. As a forward, Lionel Messi will be rated by goals, among other things. So far, he scored seven goals from 21 matches, and that alone is his worst statistic since he was a teenager. Famous magazine Four Four Two has the numbers, and they show that even during the 2005/06 season, Messi was scoring at a better goals to minutes ratio than he is at PSG. Five times in his career, he’s finished the season with over a goal a game and even when he hasn’t shattered that level, he’s come close. Since 2009 – his first Ballon d’Or win – he’s managed 0.7 goals per game. Messi’s disasterclass vs Real MadridSofascore rating: 7.4pic.twitter.com/lBRGiJKzp9— Tactical Xavi (@_inextremis) February 16, 2022 Lewandowski, Haaland and Schick (all from Bundesliga) have a goal per game ratio. Mohamed Salah is on 0.76 (which was a number Messi used to have with ease), and Ronaldo is on 0.49 – a goal every other game. So Lionel’s 0.33 looks poor indeed and puts him alongside Bukayo Saka and Christian Benteke. More so, his 0.17 goals per Ligue 1 game makes him the 400th most prolific scorer in Europe’s top five leagues. Not good at all.And what the football people say about Messi’s form. If we exclude his best friend Sergio Aguero, who is clearly biased, others are usually trying to defend him. Even the coaches in Ligue 1, like Antoine Kombouare, Nantes coach with whom PSG is playing this Saturday.”We do not touch Messi. I will never criticize Messi. I love the player, we don’t touch him! All criticism of Messi is very harsh. He has never been someone who runs in all directions. He has aged, but he is still very good. He is no longer someone who is capable of scoring 50 goals per season… but it’s Messi, we don’t touch Messi We don’t criticize Messi!” said Nantes coach. Too rainy and no swimming pool: Messi unhappy in ParisThe famous youth coach Carles Rexach, who brought Lionel Messi to Barcelona from Argentina gave his detailed analysis of the player. “I think it is an underrated aspect, let’s not forget that Leo has lived in the same environment since he was 13. It is a change that has struck him. In Barcelona the team was designed around him, in Paris it is more complicated because very good players have been bought elsewhere and everyone wants to prove their worth. At PSG the impression is that everyone thinks more about themselves, while at Barça the concept was: ‘First Messi, then the team’. The way Messi is playing means that he has already accepted that he is no longer number one. Messi now plays more for the team but he needs to be in the right mood. His challenge today is to win his fifth Champions League. Scoring a goal more or less doesn’t interest him” explained Rexach. (6.75) NANTES (4.40) PSG (1.48)Contrary to all of them, former Paris Saint-Germain winger Jerome Rothen, now a pundit for French radio channel RMC was full of criticism for the 34-year old after the Real game.“He’s the best player, perhaps, all generations combined that football has known. Nevertheless, I’m tired of hearing people say that we can’t criticize Messi. If you don’t win the match, you have an enormous frustration because Messi misses the penalty. A player like Messi, with the status he has, it’s tragic to miss a penalty; that’s the reality, even if it can happen to anyone. But him, compared to what he brings to PSG for seven months, he has no right. If he misses it, too bad for him, we are there to criticize. Messi will not leave a mark at Paris Saint-Germain. He is the boy of another club, Barcelona, which is his life, and so is the city” said Rothen. 🚨Face au Real, c’est Messi qui a le plus fait progresser le ballon (727 mètres), devant Paredes et Mbappé : pic.twitter.com/IidaOX1XyN— Paris Stats Germain (@ParisStats) February 16, 2022 So are there any mitigating circumstances with Messi? Yes, there are. In fact, there are many of them. First of all, he changed clubs and is playing for only his third team. In Barcelona, he gradually became the best player and the tactics revolved around him. In PSG, he already has a number of good and technically sound players who can play in similar positions (Neymar, Di Maria, Mbappe and even Verrati) and they all raised their efforts, since they have the best player in the world in their team. Messi still not feeling well after Covid, will miss World Cup qualifiersThen, most of Ligue 1 teams defend deep or double up on Messi, which is a factor too. Lionel was also unlucky this season as he hit the woodwork 7 times. And in the end, his body is not what it used to be. After spending a number of weeks off on holiday after lifting the Copa America with Argentina, he ended up as a free agent and when he finally signed with PSG, it took him weeks to finally play for the club. He then had some injuries, and had to travel to play for Argentina, which affected his play in PSG. On top of that, he was positive for COVID, and in his own words, it took him longer than anticipated to recover from it. With all that has been said, it seems that Father Time is starting to play a crucial role in Messi’s career. Will he be better until the end of the season, or will he continue with average display? We shall see soon.
