Lionel Messi reiterated his motivation to win this season's Champions League crown with Paris Saint-Germain and underlined how the competition "is not always won by the best team" in a dig at Real Madrid.
The Argentine has won Europe's premier club competition on three separate occasions but not since 2015 – the last time he even competed in a final.
Los Blancos were not favoured in each of their four ties in the knockout stages of the competition; sensationally eliminating Messi's PSG in the Round of 16 (as the Argentine saw a penalty saved by Thibaut Courtois in the first leg) before seeing off holders Chelsea in the quarter-finals, Premier League champions Manchester City in the semi-final and then defeating Liverpool in the showpiece.
European glory has remained elusive for PSG, who are now over a decade into their Qatari-backed ownership making them one of the richest clubs on the continent. Their financial superiority has seen the club win eight Ligue 1 titles in that period, but success on the European stage has eluded them.
Les Parisiens reached the final of the 2020 competition but were edged out by Bayern Munich in the showpiece and despite being regulars in the knockout stages of the tournament, they have regularly failed to impress in pressure moments – such as crumbling in the final stages of their loss to Real Madrid last season.
Messi has now explained on Mexican TV station TUDN: "Last year was difficult for me, it was hard after a very big change (joining from Barcelona), after being in the same place for so long. The aim [for this season] is clear to everyone. PSG have been eager for a long time to win the Champions League. The elimination last season was very hard because of how it happened because we played two great games against Real Madrid and the tie was lost in small details."
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The Argentine then continued that winning the tournament was not always an indicator of the best team: "This is not a typical year, because the World Cup is in between the games, but the main objective of PSG, like every year, is to be able to compete for the Champions League.
"It is a very difficult competition to win because it is not always won by the best team, it is always decided by small details, any mistake leaves you out of a tie, but we are preparing ourselves for when those hard moments come, to be up to the task."
Despite having won the competition on three occasions, Messi has lifted club football’s most coveted prize just once since being aged 24 and the Argentine is keen to add another winner’s medal in his career.
