Is Pochettino under huge pressure at PSG after Messi arrival?
Paris Saint-Germain defender Achraf Hakimi has admitted that he was surprised by the way Lionel Messi conducts himself inside the dressing room. Messi joined PSG on a free transfer from Barcelona, signing a two-year contract in one of the summer’s blockbuster moves, and has been forced to adapt to a new team this season.
The 34-year-old forward had wanted to stay put with Barca, who attempted to sign him onto a new contract despite their well-publicized financial troubles.
However, the idea fell through allowing PSG to swoop and add Messi to their roster of impressive free agent arrivals, which also included Gianluigi Donnarumma, Sergio Ramos and Gini Wijnaldum.
Hakimi joined the club in a £51.3million move from Inter Milan over the summer and has settled in well under manager Mauricio Pochettino.
One of the things the Moroccan right-back has enjoyed the most is working with Messi, who he says is extremely humble behind closed doors.
"Building a technical relationship with him is easy: I give him the ball, I run and he will put it where it belongs!” he told L’Equipe.
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Hakimi has settled in well at PSG (Image: GETTY)
“A dream for me! I played with many great players and the only one I missed was Messi! I am proud to evolve with such a good footballer.
"To progress, I will pay attention to how he trains, how he plays. It will grow the team and each of the players that make it up.
“We speak the same language, in addition, little by little we are getting to know each other."
Messi is currently sidelined with a bruised left knee, which he sustained in PSG’s 2-1 win over Lyon on Sunday.
He subsequently missed their 2-1 victory at Metz on Wednesday and will again be absent when they face Montpellier on Saturday.
However, Pochettino gave a positive update on his fitness in his press conference on Friday, suggesting Messi might return for Tuesday’s Champions League tie against Man City.
"Messi has started to run today. We are going to assess him and we hope he improves," he said.
"Let's wait for him to come back, but in any case we have to be cautious and in the next days we will see his progress.
"On Sunday, we will be able to give a positive update. We hope everything goes well and he will be available again. Yes, we hope he can play (against City). We have to be cautious."