Argentine superstar Lionel Messi joined French giants Paris Saint-Germain on a two-year deal after spending 17 years in Spain with FC Barcelona. However, Messi’s jersey number for PSG will be different from the one he donned over so many years.
In a social media post, posted by the club’s official handle, Messi was seen wearing jersey number 30 for PSG rather than his regular number 10 which he wears for the national team and also at Barcelona till last year.
A new ? in Paris !
PSGxMESSI ❤️? pic.twitter.com/2JpYSRtpCy
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) August 10, 2021
Messi’s former Barcelona teammate Neymar, who moved to Paris in 2017, is currently wearing the no.10 shirt at PSG and according to a report by bfmtv.com, the Brazilian offered to drop the number 10 for his good friend. But Messi denied it and decided to go back with the number he wore in his career’s early days.
Messi wore no.30 when he made his debut for Blaugrana in 2004 and changed it to no.19 in 2006. The no.10 was sported on his shirt only after Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho left FC Barcelona in 2008. PSG’s backup goalkeeper Alexandre Letellier agreed to drop no.30 and hence Messi’s jersey number at PSG will be 30.
Interestingly, Messi’s marriage anniversary with childhood friend Antonela Roccuzzo happens to be on June 30 after the couple married in 2017 in Rosario, Argentina.
Messi was seen leaving in tears while giving his farewell speech for Barcelona after the Spanish club announced that they couldn’t renew their star campaigner’s contract owing to financial obstacles.
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“Despite club and player reaching an agreement and their clear intention to sign a new contract today, this cannot happen because of financial and structural obstacles,” Barcelona had issued a stalemate.
Earlier, Messi was about to pen a five-year deal at Barcelona in which he was ready to accept a massive cut in his wages, but unfortunately, that couldn’t happen as Barcelona has been one of the big clubs that is affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Messi played a total of 778 matches for the Catalan club and scored 672 goals while making 266 assists in his 17-year stint in Spain. He leaves the club having won 35 titles, the Champions League four times, the Spanish league 10 times, the Copa del Rey seven times and the Spanish Super Cup eight times.