JAKARTA - Lionel Messi has officially joined Paris Saint-Germain. Hours earlier, after he landed in Paris on Tuesday, there had been a broken heart in Rosario, Argentina.
Rosario is the city where Messi grew up before he and his family moved to Barcelona in February 2001. Messi had defended the Newell's Old Boys academy team at a young age and the club's name always appeared whenever there was speculation about the future of the superstar.
The chaos of Argentine football and the departure of many players because the club was in debt, did not stop Newell's fans from dreaming about Messi's return.
However, that dream is likely to be extinguished again at least for some time to come after Messi arrived at Le Bourget Airport on Tuesday wearing a T-shirt that read "This is Paris" to a crowd of PSG fans chanting his name.
"Of course, in times like these we are always excited, maybe he will never come home but we always have that hope," Newell's former president Juan Jose Cocina told Reuters.
"When things like this happen, the name of our club always comes up because there is an emotional bond that counts."
When this comment was made, PSG had not officially announced the arrival of Messi. But Le Parisiens uploaded a video full of hints about Messi.
The video, titled "Coming soon" is 12 seconds long with flashes of code-filled images, including the words "Transfer Update" as well as a brief clip of a player wearing the Argentina number 10 shirt and signing a contract.
pic.twitter.com/KDqh6cG9zl
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) August 10, 2021
Some circles in Rosario were not at all surprised that Messi in the end never returned to Newell's.
But Newell's has one good reason to raise their hopes, because another of Argentina's greatest footballers, Diego Maradona, wore the blue and red jersey in the 1993/94 season.
Messi's six-year-old little boy was on the pitch when Maradona made his debut for Newell's and at the death of the legend, Messi paid his respects by celebrating the goal by taking off his Barcelona shirt and replacing it with a Newell's.
Of course Messi's return will benefit Newell's reputation more than the megastar.
Maradona and Messi's bond is common knowledge, plus figures like Mauricio Pochettino and Marcelo Bielsa can add to Newell's glamorous aspect.
But, bringing Messi home will certainly change everything.
"As a supporter, when this kind of thing happens you say 'Who can guarantee he won't come home?'," said Cocina.
"Diego is a Boca Juniors supporter and joined Newell's. If you look at the case of Messi, maybe he will come back here because of his heart," he concluded.
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