After spending almost his entire career at FC Barcelona, Lionel Messi experienced a bit of trauma in the summer of 2021, a moment chosen by the Blaugrana club to gently show him the exit door. In a hurry, the Argentinian turned to Paris Saint-Germain, one of the only clubs able to offer him the salary he wanted. Totally unexpected, the arrival of “La Pulga” shook up more than one person at the Parc des Princes, starting with Michel Montana.
Now a former PSG speaker, the latter returned to the columns of The Teamon some of the highlights of his career at the Parc des Princes. He spoke about the arrival of Lionel Messi. In 2016, in an interview, I said that I dreamed of announcing Messi. In my head, it was never going to happen. It’s crazy! What a thrill to have been able to present the Kylian-Neymar-Messi trio! »
A voice that goes off the rails
And the emotion was so strong for Michel Montana at the time of his very first introduction to the Argentinian prodigy that he somewhat lost his composure. The day of his presentation, when I was announcing him, my ‘Leo’ went into a tailspin in the high notes. I was really angry with myself. Instead of going into the low notes, like a roar, it was a little inner voice that came out too high… »
A small failure that comes close to summarizing what Lionel Messi’s time at Paris Saint-Germain will be like. Never (or almost), at the level displayed at Barça, the one who nevertheless won an eighth and final Ballon d’Or at the end of his second and final season in Paris, even ended up being whistled by some of the Parc’s supporters. Despite this, the time spent by one of the best football players in history will forever remain a memorable one for Michel Montana.
