PARIS - Lionel Messi trained with new club Paris Saint-Germain on Thursday, two days after joining the Ligue 1 giants from Barcelona, French daily L'Equipe reported.
It was the first time Messi, who won 10 LaLiga and four Champions League titles with Barcelona, set foot on the pitch since leading Argentina to the Copa América title with a 1-0 win over Brazil.
According to L'Equipe, Messi's maiden training session with PSG consisted mainly of individual running and physical recovery exercises after the six-times Ballon d'Or winner met his new teammates at the club's training ground.
Premiers pas et premier entraînement au Centre Ooredoo ! ✔️ #PSGxMESSI pic.twitter.com/fPjMbjM7YA
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) August 12, 2021
Welcome to Paris, Léo. pic.twitter.com/ZDO11HSVOw
— Kylian Mbappé (@KMbappe) August 12, 2021
The 34-year-old Argentine joined PSG on a two-year contract with the option of extending it by another year after Barcelona made it clear they could not afford to keep him because of LaLiga's financial fair play rules. Messi left Barcelona as the club's record scorer with 672 goals, having also helped them to seven Copa del Rey titles and three Club World Cups during his 17-year career at the Catalan club.
PSG are at home to Strasbourg on Saturday after a 2-1 win at promoted Troyes in their opening league game of the season but Messi is not expected to make his debut before they visit Reims on Aug. 29.
(Writing by Zoran Milosavljevic; Editing by Toby Davis)
