Last year was difficult: Lionel Messi opens up on underwhelming first season at PSG after Barcelona exit

Last year saw Lionel Messi being forced to part ways with FC Barcelona. Many closely followed the Messi transfer news, which made heads turn in the football fraternity, before the Argentina captain joined Paris Saint Germain (PSG) as a free agent. Many had high hopes from him to hit the ground running in his first-ever season in France, in a club filled with some big names, but the 35-year-old had an underwhelming debut season in PSG.

Messi ended with only 11 goals for PSG across all competitions in the 2021-22 season. While he has begun the new season on a high with four goals from seven appearances, the Argentine star admitted that it was tough for him to shift from Barcelona to PSG.

“Last year was difficult for me, it was hard after a very big change, after being in the same place for so long,” he said in an interview with Diario AS.

The defeat against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League was a big jolt to PSG's campaign in the last season. Messi reflected on the loss and has high hopes from the French club this time around, a season which will be interrupted with the commencement of the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatarin November-December. "The objective this season everyone knows. PSG have been eager for a long time to win the Champions League. Last season’s elimination was very hard because of how it happened, because we had played two great games against Real Madrid and the tie was lost in small details,"the superstar football pointed out.

“It is an unusual season, because the World Cup is in the middle, but the main objective of PSG, like every year, is to be able to vie for the Champions League. It is a very difficult competition to win, because it is not always won by the best team. It is always decided by small details, any mistake can see you removed from the knockout rounds, but we are preparing ourselves for when those tough moments come, we are at our very best,” Messi added.

The Messi-Kylian Mbappe-Neymar-starrer PSG is riding on a high at the moment. Having won seven out of their eight encounters in Ligue 1, including a draw, the French club will hope to carry on with the momentum and win big in the 2022-23 season.