Lionel Messi is calmly and happily watching on, as his Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappe has committed his future to the Ligue 1 champions.
The Argentinian star is even grateful that the media spotlight is off him, something that has hardly happened since he burst onto the scene more than 15 years ago.
Messi is delighted that Mbappe is staying at PSG. The Argentine is a born winner and, logically, he believes he will have a better chance of winning with Mbappe in Paris than if the Frenchman had made the move to Real Madrid.
Messi, let’s remember, is contracted to PSG for another year, with no option for the 2023/34 campaign (signed at least), so they will be keen to go all-out in their pursuit of the Champions League next season.
It’s true that having two forwards like Mbappe and Neymar in front of him has meant that Messi has played a deeper role, sometimes as an advanced playmaker, in a PSG team designed more for Mbappe than for him.
But it is no less true that his first season has been one of adaptation in all senses. The second is eagerly awaited, as there is a desire to see a Messi who is more accurate, more consistent and with even better numbers (26 games, six goals, 14 assists in Ligue 1 and seven appearances and five goals in the Champions League this season).
Argentina
This week he is concentrating in Bilbao with the Argentina national team to prepare for the game against Italy (Copa America champions versus European champions), which will be played on June 1 in London.
After this tournament, which he considers to be very important, there will be several more days of training with the Albiceleste and, perhaps, some more friendly matches. And after that, Messi will go on his summer holidays.
Marca
