Lionel Messi to PSG: the inside story of how a stunning deal was done

11-Aug-2021 07:00:42 | The Guardian

A call at 10pm last Thursday set the ball rolling on a move that had seemed impossible hours earlier

It was 10pm in Barcelona on Thursday when Paris Saint-Germain made their move for Lionel Messi. The stunning news had broken two hours earlier that the forward would not be staying at the Camp Nou and the way PSG went about their business showed how determined they were to get their man.

In transfers approaches are regularly made via intermediaries or agents, and clubs hoping to tempt Messi from Barcelona had often gone down this route. But PSG calculated this was a moment for the personal touch and, seeing an unexpected opening, they pounced.