Journalist reveals Lionel Messi could have stayed at PSG under Luis Enrique

The Argentine has played under the Spanish manager at Barcelona.

A journalist reveals Lionel Messi might have considered staying at Paris Saint-Germain had he known that Luis Enrique would become their next manager after Messi’s relationship with the fans and club became sour.

But if the Argentine had known that Luis Enrique, his former coach, would be taking charge, would he have stayed? According to one journalist, Lionel Messi’s stay in Paris could have been prolonged so he could have played under the former Barcelona manager.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup champion would have thought about remaining in Paris to play for the head coach who coached him from 2014 to 2017 and helped the Spanish team (Barca) win the treble in his debut season, according to BBC journalist Guillem Balague.

”Soon after he arrived, Neymar and Marco Verratti were gone. Messi, who might have stayed had he known Luis Enrique was coming, had already committed to Inter Miami. He understands and appreciates the importance of individual stars, but only up to a point,” said the Journalist.

Balague added that when Enrique was offered the PSG position, he hesitated. Given the capital club’s reputation for being fixated on having big-name players in their pursuit of the UEFA Champions League, there was no early indication that the Spanish manager would accept the role.

”He thought the club only cared about names. Players such as Neymar, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe. Uncoachable, he assumed. But when he heard the philosophy had changed – that they now wanted to build a team – he reconsidered.”

However, given that he has described in multiple interviews how tough life was after having to leave Barcelona suddenly, it was impossible to imagine the Argentine staying in Paris. Furthermore, it didn’t appear that Enrique wanted a world-renowned player on his team at PSG.

With Luis Enrique, PSG are aiming to win the French Cup for the second time in a row, win back-to-back Ligue 1 championships, and are in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League for the second year in a row.

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