LaLiga president Tebas: Messi made a mistake leaving Barcelona for PSG
LaLiga president Javier Tebas says Lionel Messi is wasted in Ligue 1 because Paris Saint-Germain does not have the same audience as Barcelona.
left
Barcelonain 2020 and joined
PSGon a free transfer. He struggled in his first season in French football but this season he has scored 11 goals and provided 13 assists in all competitions.
Speaking at the Sports Summits organised by Argentinian newspaper Ole, Tebas said:
"I think Messi is not only missed in LaLiga, he is missed by football because the French league is what it is, right?
"I think that no matter how many [superstars] are at PSG, Messi is followed much less than when he was at Barcelona. Let's hope he has a great World Cup, because there we will all be able to see him again.
"I don't see all the fans watching PSG against Nantes, I don't see it. With Barca it's the opposite.”
Messi will be a free agent at the end of the season and despite being linked with MLS side Inter Miami, Tebas is hopeful the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner will be back to his former team.
"I don't know if Messi will have one last show at Barca, that will depend on him,"
he continued.
"Hopefully he will come back. Above all it would also be good for him to return to Spanish football, especially to the team that has always been the team that birthed him.
"I think [leaving] was a mistake even for him, in my opinion, breaking up a marriage that was a very beneficial long-term alliance for Messi and for Barca itself."
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, and Sevilla were all eliminated in the Champions League group stage but the La Liga president still feels they can compete with the Premier League at the sporting level.
"It is difficult for us to reach the Premier League economically, due to a population issue, but at a technological and sporting level, we are competing,"
he said.
"It is not necessary to see what happened last season or what may happen in this one, you have to see the last 10 seasons or more.
"Since the beginning of the century, LaLiga has won 35 European titles between the Champions League and Europa League [and Super Cup], and the Premier has won 13.
"And in the last 10 seasons LaLiga has won 60 per cent of the titles. I think we are not bad and we can withstand the pull of the Premier League, despite the fact that economically they may be stronger.
"We must remember this and not only look at how the Champions League group stage has finished this season."
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