Pochettino keeps mum on Messi's PSG debut
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PARIS • Mauricio Pochettino said he had not yet decided if Argentinian forward Lionel Messi would be included in Paris Saint-Germain's line-up for today's Ligue 1 trip to Reims.
The 34-year-old Messi, who signed a two-year deal with PSG with an option for a third year after his contract with Barcelona expired, has yet to feature for the club since joining on Aug 10.
The team have won three out of three league games as he continues to work up his fitness, having returned to training late after captaining Argentina to Copa America glory over Brazil last month.
"We need to analyse and we will decide later," PSG coach Pochettino said yesterday.
There is logic in giving Messi a run-out against Reims, so that he is not completely lacking in match sharpness before joining up with the Argentina squad for a series of World Cup qualifiers at the start of next month.
"He is very motivated. He's a great professional who is adapting very fast to his new teammates and to a new context," added Pochettino of his compatriot.
"He has the capacity to adapt to a new league. All three (Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe) will be in our squad and we will see who will start in the squad only later."
PSG said that the full squad for the match would be announced only this morning.
Real Madrid have tabled a bid of €180 million (S$285.8 million) for Mbappe after having an initial €160 million offer rejected, French newspaper L'Equipe reported on Thursday.
The 22-year-old, who joined PSG from AS Monaco in 2017, has long been linked with a move to Real and has a year remaining on his PSG contract.
Speculation that he would move intensified after PSG signed Messi and after he reportedly told the club that he wants to move to Spain.
Pochettino, however, remained tight-lipped regarding the French forward's future.
"Mbappe has not told me that he wants to leave PSG," he said.
Real coach Carlo Ancelotti also refused to talk about Mbappe on Friday, telling reporters: "It's something the club handles. I understand that it's of interest, but I can't say more.
"Mbappe is a great player, that's the truth. But I focus on my players. I repeat myself - my squad is fantastic. We can compete with any team in the world."
REUTERS
€180m
Increased bid from Real Madrid for Kylian Mbappe after initial €160 million offer was rejected by Paris Saint-Germain.
