In an interview with Argentinian media TYC Sports on Monday, Lionel Messi spoke about the aftermath of covid-19, for which he tested positive last January.
Lionel Messi’s season in Paris was marked by a title of champion of France but also by some criticism concerning his performances. On Monday, he gave explanations on what could have caused his physical poor shape. Interviewed by the Argentinian media TYC-Sports , the 34-year-old footballer explained that he suffered from sequelae linked to covid-19. The player had tested positive in the capital last January. If he initially suffered from the classic symptoms of the virus, it was after a few weeks that he realized that his health had been affected. “I have had consequences. My lungs were affected. When I came back, it had been almost a month and a half since I had been able to run because of my lungs,” he said.
With hindsight, he now recognizes having resumed “too soon”. “It got worse because I went too fast and dragged it around. But I couldn’t wait any longer, I wanted to run, train, I wanted to continue. And in the end, it got worse,” he commented.
Elimination in the Champions League…
And while he was already physically affected, he also took a moral hit after the elimination of PSG in the Champions League against Real Madrid. “When I was at half capacity, the thing with Real Madrid happened and it killed us. It killed me, and the whole dressing room, and all of Paris, because it’s a big dream. The way it happened, the match, the result… it was like a punch”. He also said it has been a difficult season for him, following his move from Barcelona, where he grew as a player. “The truth is that it was a difficult year. I had to get used to a way of playing that I was not used to. At PSG, we see football differently. In Barcelona, where I played all my life, I had teammates who knew me by heart. Victim of whistles that he says “understand”, he promised to “reverse the situation” at the start of the school year.