Lionel Messi: Okay so *now* we believe he is going to play for Paris Saint-Germain not Barca – The Warm-Up

ByMichael Hincks

Updated 11/08/2021 at 11:02 GMT

The fact he’s in the kit, signing a contract, giving us quotes, in Paris, not in Barcelona, has us actually, finally, somehow believing this was not a big play after all. Lionel Messi has moved clubs, and it’s going to take some getting used to. Elsewhere… there’s a mountain of transfer news around the corner, but no one wanted to announce it the day Messi became a PSG player.

WEDNESDAY’S BIG STORIES

It's real

Okay we'll fess up. We thought there was going to be a twist. We thought there was going to be a turnaround. We thought the financial obstacles would somehow be overcome. We thought, even after the departing news conference, there was still going to be a yeah-but…

Premier League

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But...

It's time to acknowledge this has actually happened.

Deep breath, one and all. Let’s admit it together. Lionel Messi is a PSG player.

Call it what you will. Depressing. Confusing. Exciting. Bizarre. Sad. Exciting. Incredible. It's certainly something else, a sight we perhaps thought possible last year but felt would never come to fruition, especially after the play ended up with Messi eventually staying at the club he loves.

• 'I'm excited to begin a new chapter' - Messi signs two-year contract with PSG
• 'Simply unprecedented' - How Messi move will shape France, Poch and Champions League

Watch behind the scenes as Messi is unveiled as PSG player

But now it's over, Barca said their farewells, PSG put out a teaser tweet, and then Messi spoke:

"I am excited to begin a new chapter of my career at Paris Saint-Germain. Everything about the club matches my football ambitions.

"I know how talented the squad and the coaching staff are here. I am determined to help build something special for the club and the fans, and I am looking forward to stepping out onto the pitch at the Parc des Princes."

Okay, so it's really real. It really is actually really real.

Elsewhere…

Once it was clear Tuesday was Messi Day perhaps the other clubs backed off a smidgen, but there is still so much happening it really is quite overwhelming.

Romelu Lukaku's wee stop in Monte Carlo put a slight pause on the Chelsea confirmation, Raphael Varane is supposedly having his medical at Manchester United, Spurs are looking at Lautaro Martinez, and Roma eyeing Tammy Abraham.

'He is a beast' - Rudiger heaps praise on Lukaku

There’s even talk of a new contract offer for Harry Kane as Tottenham look to throw more than just a spanner in the works in a bid to prevent Manchester City from walking the league.

It is turning into a memorable transfer window, albeit one with a difference, one where clubs are desperately offloading deadwood because they've spent over the odds on players coming in - wage wise if not fee wise.

And we're not done yet. There's plenty still to happen, and a good chance there'll be a twist or two to come.

Anything Celtic can't do...

There's something about Scottish champions not qualifying for the Champions League.

It's a fate suffered by Celtic in recent years and now Rangers have failed to make the group stage too, losing to Malmo 4-2 on aggregate after a 2-1 home defeat on Tuesday night.

It was all going their way. Looking to overturn a 2-1 first-leg deficit they went a goal up thanks to Alfredo Morelos' header and were then a man up before half-time after Bonke Innocent proved not so when being shown two yellows (although to be fair he was actually hard done by...)

Few then expected a Antonio Colak double to turn the tie in Malmo’s favour, and now Rangers know they must beat FC Kairat Almaty or Alashkert FC to reach the Europa League and avoid a campaign in the Conference League.

IN OTHER NEWS

A key Twitter thread

Tuesday’s thread from Twitter UK was a reminder of the societal issues there are, the issues many of us have witnessed, and sometimes struggle to admit are real. But there’s no getting past it, and after the abuse aimed at our own England players, this was a stark indication - by Twitter's own statistics, at least - that ID verification is not such a simple step towards a social media world free of abuse.

IN THE CHANNELS

No but genuinely, what is this? OFCOM.

RETRO CORNER

On the first full day where Messi is technically a PSG player, let’s go back to the time Ronaldinho – his former Barcelona team-mate – wore the colours of PSG before he made his move to the Nou Camp.

COMING UP

The Premier League’s return is drawing ever closer, but tonight you have a Super Cup encounter to look forward to as Champions League winners Chelsea take on Europa League winners Sevilla in Belfast.

If you fancy it, there’s also some League Cup action.

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