Messi faces emotional wounds

Messi - Ảnh 1. — Messi faces an extremely difficult task in the round of 16 - Photo: REUTERS

At 11pm on June 29 (Vietnam time), Messi will reunite with his old French team when Inter Miami faces PSG in the round of 16 of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.

Messi's only unfinished business

Immediately after the Champions League final, there were many rumors on social media that Vitinha had mocked Messi. Although the Portuguese midfielder quickly denied this, the undeniable truth is that he and Messi had a conflict when they were teammates. Vitinha is Portuguese, and above all, a typical conductor.

It is understandable that there was a certain amount of friction between Vitinha and Messi, during the last years of the Argentine superstar playing football in Europe. When Messi was still in good shape, Vitinha obviously did not dare to ask for much. But when Messi got old, Vitinha had a reason to want to own the ball more, to become the "main character" for the team's play. And in addition, Messi was never himself at PSG.

"I didn't really enjoy football at PSG. I wasn't happy here. It was difficult to adapt," Messi admitted to the difficult life during his two years at the French capital club. He has never criticized anyone at PSG, but he insists he is "not happy". It is an understandable feeling for a star who has always received admiration in his home country of Argentina as well as Barca - where he grew up and has been with the team for 20 years.

But at PSG, after just two poor games, Messi immediately received heavy criticism. After Argentina defeated France in the 2022 World Cup final, the French actively directed their attacks at Messi. It made his final days at the Parc des Princes stadium nothing less than a nightmare.

Messi - Ảnh 2. — Messi will reunite with his former French team when Inter Miami faces PSG in the round of 16 of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup - Photo: REUTERS

What hope for Messi?

Unfortunately for Messi, his reunion with PSG comes at a very inappropriate time. Despite advancing to the last 16 of the FIFA Club World Cup, Inter Miami have shown little in the way of positives in terms of their play. Their only bright spots have been Messi's class, goalkeeper Ustari's miraculous save in the draw with Al Ahly, and Luis Suarez's brilliant performance against Palmeiras.

Inter Miami is too weak compared to PSG - the strongest team in the world at the moment. If they meet in the group stage, Inter Miami will have more hope because the French team is not familiar with the weather and field in the US. But coach Luis Enrique and his team have had 3 familiar matches, and now aim to destroy the home team.

Of course, in a day when the three bright spots of Inter Miami - including Messi, Suarez and Ustari's ability to save - converge, there is still hope for the American team. Sportsmole's computer data estimates that the chance of Inter Miami winning the match in 90 minutes is 28.5%. Although not too high, the corresponding figure for PSG is only 48%. Overall, experts still believe that Inter Miami is capable of surviving the 90 minutes of official play.

At 38, Messi's career has been perfect. He has won everything he could at both club and national level. But PSG is still a sad memory for the world's number 1 football superstar. Messi needs a victory, or at least a brilliant performance, to heal the emotional wounds of 2 years living in France.

Bayern Munich must not be complacent

Taking place after the PSG - Inter Miami match is the Flamengo - Bayern Munich match (3am on June 30). Although rated superior in strength, this is certainly not an easy match for Bayern Munich.

In the group stage, Flamengo convincingly defeated Chelsea. There is no reason for the Brazilian players to fear Bayern Munich - a team that has been unstable in cup competitions for many years.

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HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/messi-doi-mat-vet-thuong-long-20250629082805753.htm