Lionel Messi

Manchester City looked like a world beater in its first Champions League match of the season, the type of team that can score at will, whenever it wants. Match Day 2 was a different story for Pep Guardiola’s side, and the Bernardo Silva miss vs PSG may haunt the Citizens if they’re unable to claim first place in Group A.

It was billed as the most expensive football match in the world — the $1.10 billion squad value of PSG against the $1.16 billion of Manchester City. There was also the subplot of the most expensive transfer of the summer, City’s Jack Grealish at $135.5 million, versus PSG’s acquisitions of Lionel Messi, Georginio Wijnaldum, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Achraf Hakimi. All five started.  

PARIS - Lionel Messi's sensational transfer to Paris St Germain was a surprise for everyone, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said, adding that he hopes the Argentine plays in Tuesday's Champions League group game between the two sides.

Messi joined PSG in August when he left Barcelona after the Spanish club — where he had spent his entire career — were unable to finance a new deal for the forward.

The 34-year-old suffered a knock on his left knee last week and is a doubt for the clash against the team led by his former Barça coach Guardiola.

PARIS — Lionel Messi is suffering from bone bruising, the Ligue 1 club said on Tuesday, and will miss Paris Saint-Germain's trip to Metz on Wednesday.

"Lionel Messi, following the knock received on his left knee, has undergone an MRI this morning which confirms the signs of bone contusion, a new assessment will be made in 48 hours," PSG said in a statement.

The dust has settled on the biggest transfer of the 2021 summer window, when Lionel Messi — the six-time world men’s player of the year — finally left Barcelona and joined Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer. Despite being 34, the Messi PSG contract money speaks to his continued standing as world’s best footballer.

Mauricio Pochettino is in the headlines after he made the bold decision to substitute Lionel Messi during Paris Saint-Germain’s tight 2-1 victory against Lyon on Sunday. How many times has Messi been subbed you might ask? Almost never.

With the scored tied at 1-1 Pochettino felt that taking Messi out of the game would help his side. 

Messi after being subbed off pic.twitter.com/AxIE7EmhC4

In the annals of soccer history, you have to pick from some of the greatest teams of all time to find a front three that compares to the PSG lineup Mauricio Pochettino chose on Wednesday. For the first time, he was able to field Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, the much-hyped MNM trio.

The vaunted PSG lineup didn’t last long nor did it impress on the road at Club Brugge. The star forwards went scoreless as Paris Saint-Germain was held to a stunning 1-1 draw by the Belgian side. Club Brugge looked far more exciting on offense, outshooting PSG 16-9 (7-4 on target).