28 August,2021 07:31 AM IST | Paris | AFP
Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi could make his hotly anticipated debut for Paris Saint-Germain against Reims in Champagne country on Sunday but it is Kylian Mbappe who is the centre of all the attention just now amid ongoing speculation about his future.
Messi has not featured in either of PSG's two Ligue 1 games since arriving in the French capital as he continues to work up his fitness having returned to training late after captaining Argentina to Copa America glory last month.
"It will be a long week, but if everything goes well we hope he can be in the squad and feature in the team," Pochettino told ESPN after the Qatar-owned club beat Brest 4-2 last time out.
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 September. The same applies to Neymar, who has also not featured for his club this season after playing against Argentina in the Copa America final.
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