Lionel Messi says he joined Paris Saint-Germain to win the Champions League one more time, and revealed Mauricio Pochettino and Neymar played key roles in his decision.
Messi was unveiled to the watching world at the Parc des Princes this morning after agreeing a two-year deal with PSG worth £1million-a-week following his emotional exit from Barcelona.
He will form a fantasy football attack with Neymar and Kylian Mbappe for Pochettino’s side and be expected to finally lead PSG to Champions League glory after they reached the final two years ago and lost to Manchester City in last season’s semi-final.
The six-time Ballon d’Or winner won four Champions League titles with Barca, but the last was in 2014-15.
“I want to keep growing, keep winning titles and that’s why I came to this club,” Messi told assembled reporters in Paris. “I really want to make it happen. I am sure I am going to enjoy the time with this team and we are going to fight for the aim of this club.
“I’ll say this: my dream is to once again lift the Champions League trophy. Of course, it was very complicated to exit Barca without knowing where I was going to go. Barca is my home. I have been there since I was a kid and lived so many things there.
“I knew I was going to arrive in a very strong team, a team aiming to win the Champions League. I love to win, I want to have important goals. I know that my goals and PSG’s goals are the same, we want to be bigger and bigger.
“What I can say today is that I have got the same will and enthusiasm as when I was a kid. I still feel like this kid, I am going to give my best to achieve these goals.
“It is not easy [winning the Champions League]. Sometimes you can have the best team in the world and you don’t win. This is football. Sometimes the margins, the details… for some details it can be the knockout. PSG knows this perfectly.
“They’ve been so close to a victory but they couldn’t make it. You need a very united squad and group. This dressing room, from what you can see from the outside, is very united but you also need the luck. You can also chase the luck.
