PSG win 11th French title as Messi breaks European goal record
Paris Saint-Germain clinched a French record 11th league title as Lionel Messi scored in a 1-1 away draw in Strasbourg to break the scoring record for Europe’s top five leagues, but questions remain over the Argentine’s future at the club.
Messi’s opener on Saturday was canceled out by Kevin Gameiro’s equaliser, but the result gave PSG an unassailable four-point lead over second-placed Lens with one game of the season remaining.
PSG went ahead of Saint-Etienne’s previous record of 10 titles set in 1981, which they equaled a year ago under former coach Mauricio Pochettino.
It is PSG’s ninth title in the past 11 seasons, a period in which they have dominated French football under the ownership of Qatar Sports Investment.
PSG started the penultimate weekend of the season six points ahead of closest rivals Lens with just six points left to play and with a much better goal difference.
In the end, they only needed the draw to be officially confirmed as champions with a game to spare as Lens eased to a 3-0 victory over already relegated Ajaccio.
Kylian Mbappe put Messi ahead just before the hour mark with his 16th Ligue 1 goal of the season.
It was also Messi’s 496th league goal in Europe and broke Cristiano Ronaldo’s scoring record for Europe’s top five leagues.
Ex-Paris striker Gameiro equalized with 11 minutes remaining and bundled the rebound after Gianluigi saved Donnarumma from Morgan Sanson.
The draw ultimately worked out well for both teams, as it allowed Strasbourg to guarantee their survival in the top flight.
Unlucky days
PSG’s triumph was secured despite Christophe Galtier’s team losing six games in 2023, with closest challenger Lens receiving the highest praise.
PSG were undefeated going into the FIFA World Cup as Mbappé, Messi and Neymar seemed driven by the prospect of the impending tournament in Qatar.
However, they lost six of their first 17 league games in 2023 and were knocked out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich in the last 16 and the French Cup at the same stage.
PSG’s holy grail is the Champions League, in which the club regularly fell short at the crucial moment – including crashing five times in the last 16 in seven seasons.
The mood around the club in recent weeks has seemed surly with disgruntled fans. Neymar, now 31, has had more injury problems and Messi was suspended for missing training after making an unauthorized trip to Saudi Arabia.
When results went bad, some of the fans’ anger was directed at Messi, who underperformed after his return from winning the World Cup with Argentina.
Marco Kirdemir, a football agent, told Al Jazeera earlier this month that it is clear that Messi – whose contract expires at the end of the season – wants a change of scenery.
“He could go to Al Hilal, or Inter Miami or Barcelona… but what is certain is that Messi will not be at PSG next year because there is already a rift, including one with the fans,” he said.
There is also increasing speculation that Galtier – who also won the title with Lille two years ago – will be replaced in the close season.
“When we take stock, we have to analyze the first half of the season and what state the players were in when they came back from the World Cup,” Galtier said on Friday.
“But I understand the disappointment. It’s been a very strange season.”
Galtier arrived last year in the wake of Mbappé’s decision to turn down Real Madrid and sign a new three-year contract.
Mbappé, who has scored 40 goals this season, may now question whether he made the right choice, although the question of his future will soon be raised again.
According to reports, the 24-year-old’s contract expires next year unless he exercises an option to stay until 2025.
All eyes will be on what Luis Campos, PSG’s Portuguese recruitment guru, is doing in the transfer market.
He is held back by UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules and the fact that PSG have a string of unwanted players on big contracts who will return on loan after a season.
The savings on Messi’s annual salary of an estimated 30 million euros net would provide some leeway.
Much attention has been paid to a willingness to focus on younger players from the Paris region, a fertile breeding ground for talent.
After all, this is a club that has been stung in recent years by the decision to let so many potential players go, from Kingsley Coman and Adrien Rabiot to Moussa Diaby, Christopher Nkunku and Mike Maignan.
Meanwhile, the club’s owners continue to be thwarted in their attempts to buy the Parc des Princes from the city of Paris so they can expand its capacity, raising the possibility of a move to the larger Stade de France.