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‘Mbappe is keeping Messi on his toes!’

A former teammate of Lionel Messi’s has claimed the Argentine has been forced to adapt his game to Kylian Mbappe, whom he believes is “the best player at Paris Saint-Germain”

Fireworks were expected when the 2021 Copa America winner joined the French giants as a free agent in August last year, but the general consensus appears to be that Messi has so far failed to excite in Paris.

While he is the second-leading assist-provider in Ligue 1 so far this season, the 34-year-old’s goals tally of eight strikes across all competitions leaves little to be desired.

Ludovic Giuly, a former Barcelona colleague of the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, feels Messi has been forced to change his approach due to the emergence of Mbappe.

“He (Messi) changed his game because he no longer has the physicality that he did 10 years ago,” he said, according to Parisfans.fr.

“He adapted to Kylian who goes 2 000 miles an hour and who is the best player at PSG.

“It is his intelligence to say to himself: ‘Maybe I won’t score 30 goals, but if I make 15 or 20 assists, that’s good too.’

“Even though I know he would like to be even more decisive.”

The Frenchman also suggested that Messi has been unfortunate at times this season.

“Leo has played on his inverted side (a left-footer on the right), as a striker, as No. 10, it’s up to him to find the right position with the coach (Mauricio Pochettino),” he added.

“He didn’t lose his football ability overnight. He was also unlucky this season. Kylian does his job. Messi was already a passer in Barcelona, but he is perhaps even more so here.”

Main Image: Sporting News

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