Owen: PSG is weaker with Messi! The forward hasn’t shown anything. Ramos gives the Parisians a better chance to win the LM

Lionel Messi didn’t convert much in his debut. One chance he shot high over, then hit the crossbar, that was it. There is disillusionment among the pundits over his performance, as former footballer Michal Owen testified.

When fans saw the trio Messi – Mbappé – Neymar run out together for the first time for PSG on the Bruges pitch in the first Champions League match, the expectation was that the Parisians would give Bruges a big beating. But the match ended 1-1 and caused embarrassment.

First, after a beautiful individual action, Kylian Mbappé passed the ball to Ander Herrera for a goal, but before half-time the hosts equalised. When Mbappé was injured in the 51st minute, the visitors could do little.

“This team is weaker than it used to be after Messi came to PSG,” former Liverpool and England striker Michael Owen told BT Sport.

“I almost feel that bringing in Sergio Ramos and Gianluigi Donnarumma gives the Parisians a better chance of winning the Champions League than bringing in someone like Messi,” Owen continued.

A star-studded attack looks amazing on paper, but on its own it means nothing. Big names alone have never won anything and unless they all perform as a team, it won’t lead to success.

“There’s no way they can play like that. No commitment, no intensity, no attacking, no hard work. And they showed nothing going forward,” former Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka was frustrated on French television.

When PSG played Brugge in the 2019 Champions League group stage, the Parisians beat their Belgian opponents 5-0, with Mbappé scoring a hat-trick and Icardi scoring twice. Perhaps this is what Owen was referring to, that PSG is weaker with Messi.

Source: BT Sport