Lionel Messi debuts for PSG, match vs Reims now Spain's most-watched French football game

Lionel Messi's debut for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) has reportedly become the highest viewed French football match in the history of Spain. Already a football legend, Lionel Messi, had to leave Barcelona, after dedicating 21 years to the club, this season. The move came after La Liga's financial fair play rules along with Barca's debts made it impossible for the club to be able to sustain the relationship with the player. 

Lionel Messi's PSG debut most watched French match in Spain 

According to ESPN, Lionel Messi's debut with PSG on Sunday averaged over 2 million viewers in Spain. This reportedly made it the most-watched French football game in Spain ever. Of course, the love that the Spainard's have for the Argentinian player is understandable since Messi has spent the better part of two decades making history in the country's La Liga. 34-year-old Lionel Messi made his first-ever appearance for PSG in Sunday's match against Reims. The forward, who moved from Barcelona on a free transfer this summer, was sent in to replace Neymar for the last 30 minutes of the match. PSG snatched a 2-0 victory in Sunday's match against Reims, with French footballer Kylian Mbappe scoring both goals for the club. 

Messi's debut match was broadcasted on the free-to-air channel Telecinco in Spain, according to ESPN. The rating numbers were released on Monday revealing that the match had an average audience of 2.2 million viewers, also making it the most-watched programme in the country on Sunday. The outlet reported that over 6.7 million people turned on their televisions to watch PSG's match on Sunday "at some point during the 90 minutes."

While fans rushed to watch Messi's PSG debut, Barcelona's 2-1 win over Getafe in LaLiga was watched by an average of 591,000 viewers. The PSG game was also reportedly shown live on the Twitch channel of Ibai Llanos, a Spanish streamer and esports commentator. On the other hand, Lionel Messi's Barcelona departure has created a business opportunity for former teammate Gerard Pique. 

The rights to the French league were bought by Barca's Gerard Pique following his ex-teammates move to PSG. Pique's company Kosmos has reportedly bought the rights to broadcast Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 for the next three years in Spain as part of a partnership with Enjoy TV.

(Image - PSG_English/Twitter)