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SOCCER | PSG

Messi transfer "a surprise for everybody" - PSG's Leonardo

PSG's sporting director lifts the lid on how a move for the Argentine went from unlikely to a reality.

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Argentina's forward Lionel Messi eyes the ball during a training session in Ezeiza, Buenos Aires on October 6, 2021, ahead of a FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifier footbal match against Paraguay to be held in Asuncion on October 7. (Photo by JUAN MAB
Argentina's forward Lionel Messi eyes the ball during a training session in Ezeiza, Buenos Aires on October 6, 2021, ahead of a FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifier footbal match against Paraguay to be held in Asuncion on October 7. (Photo by JUAN MABJUAN MABROMATAAFP

PSG sporting director Leonardo revealed that Lionel Messi's arrival at Parc des Princes was as much a surprise for the club as it was for everyone else.

Speaking at the "Festival dello Sport" event in Italy organized by Italian outlet Gazetta dello Sport, Leonardo divulged more details on this summer's events that led the Argentine superstar to sign for the Ligue 1 giants after Barcelona were unable to re-register the player due to its financial struggles.

The PSG sporting director explained how the club "had started a kind of networking" with Messi's camp, but did not expect anything to happen as the player had already decided he was going to stay at Camp Nou.

And this initial contact, he said, "helped us to be in a good position" after Barcelona "announced the end of their relationship". See video above for Leonardo's full account.