MESSI MANIA AS LEO MAKES HIS PSG BOW

THE little man the world had come to see was twirling a blue-and-red face mask round his finger. It gave the impression all was calm. Yet in those tension-fuelled moments before kick-off, Lionel Messi continually rubbed his lips together and took the occasional big gulp. There was a moment, too, when he sidled behind the hulking figure of Gianluigi Donnarumma, as if seeking shelter. Forget the telephone number salary for a moment and the adoration afforded him from Buenos Aires to Barcelona. Here was a snapshot of a man feeling nervous and vulnerable at the start of a new odyssey. Messi would barely have batted an eye at the photographers strategically positioned around the Paris Saint-Germain bench like marksmen. But for him — and the rest of us — the sight of him in new colours will take a period of adjustment. Those days when he sped across the pitch at the Nou Camp, as if controlled by a joystick, are over but the expectation is he will keep casting spells in France. It doesn’t matter that he is 34, Messi’s name invites you to enter a world where fantasy with a football becomes reality. You only had to be in Reims for his PSG debut last night to feel the impact of him being in Ligue 1. This was where French kings had their coronation ceremony from 1027 and 1825 and it was as if royalty returned to the city. Thousands descended to see his anointment, lining the streets for a glimpse. The crowd around the main entrance was ten-deep as the PSG team bus trundled into the stadium at 7.05pm. Messi was cheered as he bounced down the stairs of the vehicle — Neymar loudly booed — but that was nothing until boss Mauricio Pochettino finally gave him the nod to stretch his legs, 57 minutes into the game. Even the Reims crowd began chanting ‘Messi! Messi! Messi!’. The cheer was even louder when he got on the pitch in the 65th minute just after Kylian Mbappe’s second goal had given PSG a 2-0 lead. They roared each time he completed his first three passes. If he doesn’t go to Real Madrid before tomorrow night’s transfer deadline, the prospect of Mbappe dovetailing with Messi and Neymar is mouthwatering. We will have to wait for that day, as Pochettino took Neymar off. Maybe the game at the Parc des Princes against Clermont Foot on September 12 will see them all unleashed. There were nerves apparent in Messi’s first couple of moments on the field, going back to the basics of just wanting to complete his first couple of passes, but then his instincts kicked in. Reims captain Yunis Abdelhamid bundled him over as he tried to make a run forward. Duly noted, Messi responded at the next opportunity by thundering into Abdelhamid, casting a quick, ruthless glance behind as he dashed towards goal. There would be no dream start, he is short of peak condition and didn’t even get a chance to test keeper Pedrag Rajkovic — but he won’t be losing sleep. What was important was the opportunity to get going. Now he can look forward to casting more spells.