Lionel Messi Prepares For His Paris Saint-Germain Champions League Debut.

The 34-year-old was expected to make his full debut for the Qatar-owned club last weekend, but he was rested against Clermont after returning from Argentina international duty.
However, PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino is expected to unleash the six-time Ballon d’Or winner from the start against Belgian champions Club Brugge in the Group A opener at the Jan Breydel Stadium.
If Neymar and Kylian Mbappe play, it will be the first time the superstar attacking trio has played together for the Parisians. Expectations are sky-high, both for Messi at his new club and for PSG in the Champions League, which they have yet to win but desperately want.
PSG will face Abu Dhabi-backed Manchester City, the team that knocked them out in the semi-finals last season, as well as RB Leipzig in a group that could not be more difficult, but this is a team built to go all the way.
It reminds me of when I first arrived in Liverpool. Liverpool was putting together a team to win the Premier League. Here, I’ve joined a team that has been built to win. ‘This is going to be massive,’ I told myself Another of PSG’s summer signings, Georginio Wijnaldum, told sports daily L’Equipe.
Lucky?
Even though the former European Cup finalists have won the Belgian championship in three of the last four seasons, they should be far too strong for their first opponents. PSG last visited Bruges in the group stage two years ago. There was no Messi or Neymar back then, but Mbappe scored a hat-trick in a 5-0 victory.
Wijnaldum and Messi were joined at Parc des Princes this summer by Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, flying full-back Achraf Hakimi, former Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos, and Portuguese prospect Nuno Mendes.
Despite the fact that Ramos has yet to play, and Messi has been gradually preparing himself, PSG has won five games out of five in Ligue 1, scoring 16 goals.
Their recruitment drive, combined with their decision to reject up to 200 million euros from Real Madrid for Mbappe despite the fact that the France star is in the final year of his contract, has enraged some of their European rivals.
State-owned clubs are as dangerous for football’s ecosystem as the Super League was, La Liga president Javier Tebas said, calling PSG’s spending unsustainable in a football economy still reeling from the pandemic’s impact.
PSG has always maintained that they have not violated UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations, and they have issued a harsh rebuke to Tebas, calling his remarks insulting and defamatory. PSG’s loss is La Liga’s gain when it comes to Messi. Even though Messi hasn’t done much on the pitch for his new team, this is clear.
source: PSGWhen asked about his compatriot, Pochettino told UEFA.com, There are many more people who have a wider vocabulary to describe him closer to the reality Leo deserves. Pochettino, who is without suspended Angel di Maria for the start of the European season, was wary of exaggerating PSG’s chances in the Champions League.
This is a very unpredictable competition…you have to be lucky, he said to UEFA.com. However, as a coach, you can’t get much luckier than having Messi, Neymar, and Mbappe on your team.