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Paris Saint-Germain (PSG)'s Julian Draxler has opened up on the first time he trained with Lionel Messi.
The French club grabbed the headlines in the summer of 2021 after they reached an agreement to sign Messi on a free transfer from Barcelona. He penned an initial two-year deal and started training with the club in August.
By then, Draxler, who joined PSG in January 2017, had trained with some of the most gifted footballers on the planet, including Neymar Jr, Kylian Mbappe and Dani Alves. But Messi, he recalls, still managed to amaze him in training.
The German playmaker told the Sportfunk podcast from Coachwhisperer (h/t BILD):
"When you play five-on-two in a circle with Di Maria, Mbappé and Dani Alves, you think that the level can't really go any higher. Then they come and bring Messi from Barcelona, who had previously been on holiday for eight weeks and had probably laced up his football boots for the first time.
"He then stands there in the circle and plays for half an hour and doesn't make a single mistake. At some point you think: Okay, at some point you’ve reached the limit."
Messi went on to register 32 goals and 35 assists in 75 games for PSG in two seasons before leaving on a free transfer to join Inter Miami. Towards the end of his time in Paris, he was often criticized by pundits and fans for his UEFA Champions League performances.
They exited the competition in the last-16 stage in both seasons Messi was at the club. He played in all four knockout games but failed to score or register a single assist. Neymar, who is now at Al-Hilal, described his and Messi's time in Paris as 'hell'.
Argentina boss gives reason for Lionel Messi's absence against Bolivia
Lionel Messi traveled to the dizzying heights of La Paz but was left out of Argentina's squad to face Bolivia on September 12.
Before that game, the 36-year-old confirmed that he asked to be substituted in his team's 1-0 win against Ecuador as he was tired. After the 3-0 CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying win against Bolivia, manager Lionel Scaloni said (h/t GOAL):
"He [Lionel Messi] wasn't ready to play. Yesterday he tried to recover and he didn't feel comfortable and we didn't take the risk. He wasn't fit. Yesterday in training we wanted him to try and he didn't even try."
It remains to be seen if Inter Miami manager Gerardo 'Tata' Martino plays the former Barcelona superstar in the MLS clash against Atlanta United on September 16. He is their most important player up front, scoring 11 times in as many games for them across competitions this season.
