FIFA Club World Cup: How Paris St-Germain have moved on from Messi

Lionel Messi is long gone from Paris St-Germain, but the team he left behind are writing a glorious new chapter as the Argentinian legend prepares to face his old club.

On Sunday, Messi’s Inter Miami side will bid to produce a stunning upset when they take on PSG in the Round of 16 showdown at the FIFA Club World Cup, where every game is live and free on DAZN.

The greatest player of his generation versus the newly-crowned UEFA Champions League winners, as it will be at Atlanta United's Mercedes-Benz Stadium, is an occasion to increase the heartbeat.

The romance of the fixture is undeniable and all eyes will be on Messi.

But the Parisian giants have moved from the Argentinian icon and do not underestimate how effective their current strikeforce is proving.

Desire Doue, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Ousmane Dembele were key figures as Luis Enrique’s men clinched an historic treble this season, winning the French Ligue 1 title, Coupe de France and Champions League.

The 5-0 hammering of Inter Milan on May 31 gave Paris St-Germain the first European Cup in their history – something Messi could not deliver during his time in the French capital.

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Do not overlook that either.

Messi’s two-season stay at PSG between 2021 and 2023 could certainly not be described as unsuccessful.

He won two league titles and a record-extending eighth Ballon d’Or in 2023, scoring 32 goals and contributing 35 assists in 75 appearances.

But this season has marked a clear departure from PSG’s past approach of assembling superstars like Kylian Mbappé, Neymar and Messi.

At times that star-studded resembled a disparate collection of unacquainted cogs and wheels.

Read | Twelve years and ten iconic battles: Messi ready for latest match-up with PSG

Under Enrique, though, they have meshed like a well-oiled machine and blossomed into the best team in Europe, noted for their intense, creative and skilful style of play.

The former Barcelona player has put his faith in youth and changed the whole culture of the club, with their success chiselled on relentless work-rate and a collective desire.

Shifting Dembele to a central striking role has paid dividends and he is now rated among the favourites to win this year’s Ballon d’Or.

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The France international, 28, joined PSG in August 2023 and this season was his best-ever in front of goal, scoring over 30 times but has yet to feature at the Club World Cup and will look to shake off a hamstring strain ahead of Sunday's clash with Inter Miami.

Dembele has linked up brilliantly with Georgia winger Kvaratskhelia, who arrived from Napoli in January, having previously been linked with Liverpool and Chelsea, and 20-year-old Doue.

As PSG reduced Inter to so much rubble in Munich on May 31, Kvaratskhelia was on target while Doue scored twice.

Kvaratskhelia, 24, can create and score goals from the left wing with his cultured left foot and he found the net in PSG’s 2-0 win against Seattle Sounders on Monday.

Doue has a similar impact from the opposite flank in a high-tempo, high-energy strikeforce ably supported by the likes of influential midfielders Vitinha and Joao Neves and France forward Bradley Barcola.

Doue, Kvaratskhelia and Dembele were all prominent when Enrique’s side dumped Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal out of the Champions League en-route to glory in Germany.

When Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk called PSG “the best team I have faced in the last three years”, it said everything about their progress under Enrique.

Now Messi will get to see first-hand how good his old club are on Sunday.

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