Lionel Messi snubs former team Barcelona while naming Champions League title favourites

Lionel Messi leaving Barcelona for Paris Saint Germain came as a shock for the football fans around the world. Following the departure of Messi from the club, Barcelona has struggled for form this season and are placed at the 9th spot on the LaLiga points table. Lionel Messi's PSG transfer was a big setback for the Catalan club as they have failed to do well at the club and European level post his departure. Recently Lionel Messi was asked to name the club who are the favourites to win the season's Champions League and surprisingly he does not see his former club Barcelona in the list.

Lionel Messi excludes Barcelona from Champions League title favourites tag

Following Lionel Messi's departure, Barcelona are not having a great UEFA Champions League campaign with the team currently at the bottom of their group and on the verge of getting eliminated in the first round. According to a report published by Marca, the PSG forward while talking to France Football named the major clubs he thinks have a chance of winning Europe's elite competition this season, however, the Argentina player does not see his former team anywhere close to winning the title. Lionel Messi said,

"Everyone thinks that Paris Saint-Germain will win the Champions League, but there are more teams. There is Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid who always do well, Bayern Munich and Inter. I don't know if I forgot any."

Speaking of  PSG's chance of winning the Champions League title with the star-studded squad, Messi said that there are good players in the group, but they need to gel as a team. He said, "we have some great individual players, but we still need to get to know each other well to form a team. To win titles it's important that you play as a team. This is what makes me say that we're a step behind in comparison with all these clubs who have more collective experience than us. The club has been working towards this goal for a few years now and recently they've come close".

Lionel Messi opens up about joining PSG

Recently while to France Football's L'Équipe, the 34-year-old Lionel Messi said that he received many offers after his Barcelona exit however it was PSG's project, the players and the overall quality of the team that won him over. While speaking to the French publication he said,

"I received other offers, but ... we came to an agreement with PSG quite quickly. I was obviously won over by the project, the players it has, the quality of the group … all these elements made it easier to find an agreement. Knowing that I had friends in the locker room allowed me to tell myself that things were going to be simple for me to adjust. And I was not wrong, because it was very easy to integrate myself, especially because there are many players who speak Spanish like me.

Image: PSG/ FC Barcelona/ Instagram