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| The superstar will wear the No.30 shirt in the French capital |
Lionel Messi may be in the Paris St Germain squad for their Ligue 1 visit to Brest on Friday, manager Mauricio Pochettino said but he remained tight-lipped on whether the six-times Ballon dโOr winner would finally make his debut.
The 34-year-old Messi is yet to feature for the French giants after joining them from Barcelona earlier this month and he was presented to the fans ahead of PSGโs 4-2 home win over Strasbourg on Saturday.
โWe havenโt decided the squad yet and we will assess whether Messi can be a part of it,โ Pochettino told a news conference when asked if his Argentine compatriot would be involved in the match against Brest.
โEverything is positive. There is a good atmosphere in the squad and he has settled in well and quickly. There is a very good feeling.โ
Messi had not trained for a month after steering Argentina to the Copa America title with a 1-0 win over rivals Brazil in the final.
Having won 10 LaLiga and four Champions League titles during his 17-year career at Barcelona, Messi left them on a free transfer after the Catalan clubโs president Joan Laporta said they could no longer afford to keep him.
Pochettino also suggested speculation that Kylian Mbappe might leave the club in the current transfer window amounted to nothing, with the France World Cup winner a target for Real Madrid, according to media reports.
โMbappe is our player and I want him to be here this season,โ said Pochettino.
โHe has another year left on his contract. Even if he doesnโt renew it, he is still a PSG player and we are very pleased with him and from what I can understand, he is pleased with us.
โHe is very calm and preparing well for tomorrowโs game.โ
PSG can provisionally go three points clear at the top of the table if they beat Brest to make it three wins out of three at the start of their campaign to wrestle the league title back from last seasonโs champions Lille.
They are currently third on six points, behind leaders Angers and promoted Clermont Foot on goal difference.
REUTERS
