I would call it a "good" season for Messi and a "great" season for any other player. Both Messi and Neymar were clear of Mbappe performance-wise in the first half of the season. Mbappe was scoring goals, but his performances were not that great, his finishing was a bit erratic and he was a bit selfish, while feeding off of golden opportunities Messi and Neymar were providing him. Messi and Neymar both ghosted the CL tie against Bayern and an injured Mbappe came in and at least scored against them, and that colored the rest of the season. Messi and Neymar sort of lost interest (injury in Neymar's case) when the fans turned on them and made them scapegoats and Mbappe finished with a strong scoring spree, helping PSG limp over the finish line to a title. Messi still racked up some stats in the latter half of the season, but for a variety of reasons, I don't think he had the same motivation. He probably already knew he was likely to leave, but still kept it professional.
If any young player had the overall season that Messi had, they would probably be the hottest property in Europe (I would say a notch above Kvara last season), but by Messi's standards it was just a "good" season, not great. Mbappe's wasn't particularly great either, though he scored goals, but I would just about have him edging it over Messi given the totality of circumstances over the season. What sets them apart is that in the PSG setup Mbappe was still an obvious danger in the Champions League, whereas Messi was easier to neutralize.
I agree with these 2 - it wasn't terrible for sure, and his bottom level is just incredibly high, I was just mainly reacting to a post saying his season was "nothing short of brilliant", which is pure hyperbole.I've watched the whole season and he was brilliant in the first half, even regarding his own best level and just "good to great" after the WC but mostly being a pro, he just wasn't there in full mind, clearly in disarray with the Ultras and even clearly pissed with the play of many of his teammates and mostly the club itself.
Like in some sort of ok I'll do my thing, if someone stupidly doesn't return me a pass, or loose the ball in a silly way, etc so be it... I'll just do my job and feck them if with this treatment.The contrast with the Feisty NT Messi was evident as fvck, yet not even Barca had that Messi too much.
To make it worse PSG last year fell from a cliff like usually does, but even worse there was a moment that it was just him and Killian and the last one still is pretty much spoil, not his fault BTW.
At the end of the day the issue with him is kind of a mixed bag that exceedes him and is inherent to the Club since sometime and the moment that he arrived and how and why he arrived.
In general PSG is putting themselves in a very bad place. They have a really busy football crowd, a la southamerican style, even more than many of the more traditional ones in Europe. Yet it's almost like an over the top reaction for being called plastic, or the Oil team, etc etc. So in order to feel like the part, they overreact, the Board too with that silly CL or nothing, the fans without their feet in their ground either and a large etc.
Messi also didn't arrive there in a quest, like PSG fans might have desired, he arrived there after being rejected by HIS club, clearly pissed with Laporta (no matter right or wrong) after beinng used for the elections and already having in PSG his mate Ney as a key figure in his new club and the New Kid on the Block in Killian.
The whole thing of the "I use the 30", the whole "I'm here to sum, you two are THE MAN here", ended biting his own tail.
He should have know better but I don't think he was in the right state of mind and after his normal first season and with already having the Ultras against and the whole internal issues of the squad, the second season already has lots of bad luggage from the first one.
More when fans compare his logical (yet not that typical) ubber comittment a la Diego with the NT of recent years.
That was a very bad mix of circumstances.
The ego related issues in the squad, relaxation, the really poor form of almost every other member of the squad at some point, the release of "secondary" players that were fantastic like Di Maria for them, while not having real high calibre subs plus having a rooster full of youngsters more eager to show themselevs than play as a team, was a mess. Also for me Lucho was the coach for that first season, to the very least the second one, not Poch at all, nor Galtier.
Even Killian realized too late how much he could benefited from his interactions in the field with Messi than being more preocupied for his status, his stats, his relation with the Ultras, with Neymar, the Press and board.
At the end of the day, his individual level that last season was great and PSG in the state it was, would have not even win the Title, even his last goal was clutch in order to obtained it, but I do agree with you that is hard to name it overal Brilliant with the atmosphere there, with PSG fans expecting NT's team Messi (in an unrealsitic way IMO) and Messi even doing his job, clearly pissed.
And just to clarify, I think it's perfectly normal he got the BO and is a deserved winner.
