No one would is making a big discovery when they speak about Lionel Messi's subpar performances with PSG since he joined them last summer, but one of Messi's biggest influences during his earlier years has shared an interesting yet worrying take on why the player has failed to thrive as expected at Parc des Princes.
Speaking in an interview with an Argentine radio show, former Barcelona coach and scout Carles Rexach revealed a curious insight on Messi's mind, and went on to state how the Argentine superstar is not enjoying his time in Paris as much as he did playing for Barcelona.
"Messi is suffering at PSG. It's a team full of mercenaries. They don't play top class football, they only win because one day Neymar shows up, then it's Messi or Mbappé's turn to solve things, but they have not been able to establish a style of play," Rexach said.
The former tactician went on criticizing Mauricio Pochettino's job with the French side and how his team has not been able to make Messi the team's reference as he was with Los Blaugranas.
"He ended up playing for a team that was built thanks to a large bank account and that's filled with footballers that only play for themselves. On the other hand, Barcelona played to Messi's tune. Messi at Barcelona was the icing on the cake and that will make it very hard for Messi to find in a team. Messi's era at Barcelona will never be forgotten or matched,"Rexach added.
The former winger decided to discuss Messi's exit from the club, hinting that there might be more to know about the circumstances that surrounded his exit from the Blaugrana side.
"The truth about Messi's departure is yet to be known, and it may come out as time goes by. I would have loved to see him retiring as a Barcelona player. As someone who was born and grew up in Barcelona, it would have been great to see his final competitive games here,"Rexach stated.
Before the interview concluded, Rexach urged Messi to return to Barcelona before or after he calls it quits as a footballer, while also dropping a hint on what could be his next move.
"Messi is forced to come back to Barcelona in whichever capacity he wants, especially if he returns before his playing career concludes. Even so, he should go on to win the World Cup and then retire. He deserves to do that. It would be a great way to end things. To go on, score a goal to win the World Cup and call it quits...it would be a great way to go," Rexach concluded.
