Messi was different from how media portrayed him — Kylian Mbappe reveals key LM10 experience

Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe recently expressed how lucky he was to have played with Lionel Messi at Paris Saint-Germain. 

The pair spent two seasons as teammates in Paris. Mbappé, who has been at the club since 2017, before Messi joined in 2021, said Messi exuded humility when he joined, suggesting that the Argentine in reality was a stark contrast to his media portrayal. 

The France international spoke on Universo Valdano when he was asked about his time as Lionel Messi's teammate. He had the following to say:

"Very normal. When you're famous, you tend to get labelled as what you're like, and if you don't listen, it gets stuck in your head. You say, 'Well, yeah, it's true that's how he is.' But no. Messi arrived and was a totally normal person, respectful of everyone.”

“And as a player, he’s... (sighs) a unique player. When you have someone like that on your team and you're an attacking player, you just have to be around and watch everything he does. How he finishes, how he saves, how he plays. And I think having been so close to him has helped me a lot to understand the game better."

Mbappé reiterated how much he learned from the diminutive Argentine and how lucky he was to have shared the dressing room with him. 

"I think it's been a stroke of luck to play with Leo Messi. I never thought I'd do it in my career,” he continued, per Goal. 

“Because my dream was to go to Real Madrid, I never thought about going to Barcelona, and since I thought he'd always play there.

“I knew I'd have the chance to play against him, not with him. But I did, and it was very special. I learnt a lot from him, and I want to thank him. It was a very rich two years. It's a golden opportunity to have such a special player around you."

Lionel Messi joined Paris Saint-Germain in August 2021, arriving on a two-year deal after leaving Barcelona. 

He spent the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons as a Parisien, and in those seasons, Messi and Kylian Mbappé played together across Ligue 1, domestic cups, the French Super Cup, and the Champions League. 

On the trophy front, Messi and Mbappé’s partnership produced several domestic wins. They won Ligue 1 in both seasons. However, their Champions League campaigns fell short of expectations: PSG were knocked out in the Round of 16 in both 2021-22 and 2022-23.