Sitting at the table of great sports stars are undoubtedly Lionel Messi and Manny Pacquiao. Both reached the elite and were considered the stars of their respective sports. Since his retirement, the legendary boxer confessed his admiration for Lionel and also for the Argentine National Team and dared to point out which team he should play for… and no, it is not Paris Saint-Germain.
Perhaps Pacquiao has a point: after signing for PSG in August 2021, Lionel Messi’s career was never the same again. Accustomed to winning titles as a player at FC Barcelona, he only managed to win the French Ligue 1 with the Parisian team… and nothing else.
Even statistics support Manny Pacquiao’s call for Messi to leave PSG. Not since his second season as a Barcelona first-team player had he played so few games and scored so few goals: he only had 34 appearances and scored 11 times.
The way forward for Lionel Messi, according to Manny Pacquiao
The five-division World Champion retired from boxing after surprisingly losing to Cuban Yordenis Ugas in August 2021, and despite being totally focused on his political life (he even contested for the presidency of his native Philippines) he took some time to take a vacation in Spain, where he told Mundo Deportivo about his fanaticism for Messi and the team he would like him to play for.
“I always watch Barça’s soccer matches. And those of the Argentine National Team, because of Messi… (I hope) that (Lionel) returns to Barcelona.“, he said during his visit to Catalonia where the president of Barcelona gave him a tour of the Camp Nou.
Manny Pacquiao’s dream of seeing Lionel Messi in the FC Barcelona jersey again will not come true, at least not this season, since the Argentine star has already reported to Paris Saint-Germain to start working under his new coach, Frenchman Christophe Galtier, who replaced Mauricio Pochettino, who terminated his contract with the team by mutual agreement.
Lionel Messi, Paris Saint Germain. (Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
