Lionel Messi 'grateful' despite losing heavily to PSG

Lionel Messi was cordial with Paris Saint-Germain players despite his side suffering a 4-0 defeat which saw them crash out of the Club World Cup in the round of 16. 

Inter Miami entered the match as underdogs against European champions PSG. Despite their unbeaten group stage run, the quality gap was evident early on.

PSG's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Bradley Barcola caused trouble for the Miami defense. A defensive lapse on a free-kick led to the opening goal, with João Neves heading home Vitinha's deep free-kick in the sixth minute.

PSG dominated the match, unleashing a barrage of attacks in the final stages. They doubled their lead through Neves' second goal and added a third goal through an own goal by Tomás Avilés and a strike from Achraf Hakimi, all within a nine-minute span.

After the game, Messi spoke with some of the PSG players and staff. "The greetings with PSG players after the game? They were teammates with whom I had a very good relationship during the two years I was in Paris,” he said, per AlbicelesteTalk. 

"Even though only a few remain from my time at the club, with those who stayed and with everyone, I had a good relationship. As I always say, I’m grateful for that and for the way people treated me.”