Messi could feature for PSG at home to Nantes on Saturday, unless Mauricio Pochettino decides to keep his compatriot fresh for the trip to Manchester City next week in the Champions League. I hope to be able to finish the year well.” I know that bit by bit I’m going to step it up. “It’s not easy to play a match with as much rhythm as this one.

“I’m doing well, otherwise I wouldn’t have played,” Messi told Argentina’s T圜 Sports network after the Brazil game. He then started the 0-0 draw with Brazil that helped Argentina clinch qualification for Qatar. The six-time Ballon d’Or winner returned to action as a substitute in his country’s 1-0 victory over Uruguay. Messi missed PSG’s last two games before the international break with a combination of knee and thigh issues and has yet to score in Ligue 1, where he has been limited to just five appearances.

CNBC's Elliot Smith contributed to this report.With Argentina’s place at the 2022 World Cup secure, Lionel Messi can shift his focus exclusively to ending the year “in the best way possible” with Paris Saint-Germain after an injury-hit start to life in France. He has won FIFA's player of the year award and the European Golden Shoe for the continent's top scorer a record six times each, and departed Barcelona after two decades with the Catalan club, in which he contributed 672 goals in all competitions and won 34 trophies. Messi broke down in tears when bidding farewell to Barcelona on Monday, and told Wednesday's press conference that the past week had been an 'emotional roller coaster.' Messi joined PSG as a free agent after Barcelona acknowledged they could no longer afford to follow through on the elite player's five-year contract agreement.

When Cristiano Ronaldo signed for Italian giants Juventus in 2018, more than $60 million worth of his shirts were sold in just 24 hours.

The signing is expected to bring a windfall of commercial revenues, through such avenues as jersey sales. PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi told reporters on Wednesday that the world will be 'shocked' by the financial revenues generated by the club's signing of the global soccer superstar. 'Fan Tokens and play an increasingly prominent role across sport at the very highest level,' said Alexandre Dreyfus, CEO of, in a statement. England's Manchester City launched its own fan token in March using the same technology.

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