Lionel Messi made his Paris Saint Germain debut off the bench in their 2-0 win over Stade Reims on matchday four of the 2021/22 French Ligue 1 after a brace from Kylian Mbappe secured all three points for Les Parisiens.
Kylian Mbappe, who has been the subject of a great deal of speculation following his handing in of a transfer request at the club scored twice in the 16th and 63rd minutes of the game to put Paris Saint Germain two goals up and into a position of comfort before manager Mauricio Pochettino hauled off Neymar in place of Lionel Messi only three minutes after the second Mbappe goal for this Paris Saint Germain debut. Neymar, like Messi, was making his first appearance of the season for the French giants after his extender holiday following his Copa America exertions.
After his introduction in the 66th minute, Messi wasted no time in announcing his arrival to Paris Saint Germain in the French league as he completed 20 out of his 21 attempted passes and won four of the five ground duels he competed in. The 34-year-old Argentine captain had little to do in his time on the pitch. Paris Saint Germain have won all of their four matches in the league this season to sit atop the standings.
At the final whistle, the Argentine superstar spent his time taking pictures with the Reims players and their children, while also waiting to sign jerseys for a couple of the home fans.
Mbappe’s future will be discussed seriously in the coming days after Paris Saint Germain turned down two bids from Real Madrid for the 22-year-old Frenchman, including one of $200 million, despite his request to the club to allow him leave for the Spanish capital. With the transfer window due to close in the next 48 hours, it is expected that Real Madrid would come back for their man, and the French club may have no option but to sell the striker.
