Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel was asked about rumors his club could try to sign Barcelona captain Lionel Messi in the wake of Sunday’s Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich.
Tuchel’s side went down 1-0 to the Bavarian giants in Lisbon, Kingsley Coman scoring the only goal of the game to secure a sixth European Cup for the Bundesliga champions.
The PSG boss spoke after the game in a press conference about his team’s performance and whether Messi could be the next superstar to arrive at the Parc des Princes.
“We showed again we can compete with the best teams in Europe with this mentality and attitude, in combination with our talent. We are a strong, strong side. We can be proud of that. We cannot worry too much because it is okay and we will go on.
“He [Messi] is very welcome! We lost lots of players for this campaign only and we lose now Thiago Silva and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting. We need to use the transfer window now to make the squad wider. The campaign will be very demanding without any breaks. We need to build a strong, strong squad.
“We decided not to talk about transfers in this period here. We will sit together in the next days. We have many things to do to keep the level of the squad.”
Tuchel’s response did not seem to satisfy reporters as he was pressed again on the Messi issue. This time he answered: “What coach says no to Messi? I think Messi finishes his career in Barcelona. He is Mr Barcelona.”
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Messi Barcelona Future In Doubt
Messi’s Barcelona future is currently in some doubt. The Argentina international has told new manager Ronald Koeman he is thinking about leaving following a difficult season that culminated in an 8-2 hammering by Bayern in the Champions League quarter-finals.
The 33-year-old has one year left on his current Barcelona contract, meaning he can walk away for free at the end of next season. Yet trying to sign Messi now will be more difficult, particularly as his buyout clause is set at €700 million.
Messi’s price tag and huge wages means few clubs will be able to land the forward if he does decide it’s time to walk away from the Camp Nou. Inter, Manchester City, and PSG are Messi’s options at the moment, according to Marca.
The Barcelona captain may need to make a decision on his future soon. The Catalan giants are due back for pre-season preparations in less then a week ahead of the start of the new La Liga campaign.
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‘Mr Barcelona’ Lionel Messi Is Welcome at PSG: Tuchel