Ligue 1 Europe’s number 1 competition? French clubs believe it’s possible with Messi’s arrival

Lionel Messi is already a PSG player, but would that make other Ligue 1 teams uncomfortable? Not really. On the contrary, they hope it can help the competition grow.

PSG can now boast, on paper at least, the strongest squad on the planet. Over the summer, stars such as Gianluigi Donnarumma, Sergio Ramos, Giorginio Wijnaldum, Achraf Hakimi and Lionel Messi have already bolstered such a strong squad.

It is obvious that the Parisian side does not want to let another title loss like the one Lille won last season. Moreover, it wants to win the coveted Champions League title.

Would such a dominance bother the clubs in France? How about this. The Lyon boss, for example, sees a positive side to all this. And he’s not alone.

The Ligue 1 clubs have had to deal with financial problems, with the failed TV rights deal with BeIN Sports costing French football €400 million in the last two seasons alone.

Overall, French football has lagged far behind the four competing leagues in Europe in terms of television revenues. However, interest in Messi should change that, which will mean more funding for all clubs and therefore the possible arrival of better players.

“The arrival of Messi is undoubtedly a plus through TV rights and the general marketing value of Ligue 1. I can’t imagine that the interest abroad won’t go up. Moreover, we mustn’t forget that Lyon, Marseille, Nice and Lille are also trying to make maximum progress,” Lyon boss Jean-Michel Aulas let slip.

“Of course, building a great team at PSG makes the competition more difficult for all of us, but we are all happy about it. We need it. Equally, we need at least those clubs that will play in Europe to have the means to sign quality players. Then Ligue 1 can become number one in Europe,” Aulas added.

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