Lionel Messi shares hug with Neymar as he returns to PSG after World Cup

Lionel Messi may have been wary of returning to France, the country devastated after losing the World Cup final to his Argentina team, but he returned to Paris Saint-Germain with a big smile and a hero’s welcome.

The Argentina star has finally arrived in France after a two-week holiday following the penalty shootout final victory in Qatar.

He spent time at home in Buenos Aires, then Rosario, to celebrate but returned to PSG and he wore a big smile as he hugged Neymar and his other teammates at their training ground on Wednesday .

The Parisian giants return to domestic action against Strasbourg on December 28 – after the World Cup break – without the Argentina captain.

His teammates Neymar and Kylian Mbappe – who starred in the World Cup final just 10 days earlier – started the fixture but Messi stayed with Argentina.

It will now be up to boss Christophe Galtier to bring him back into the side, with the Ligue 1 fixture against Angers on January 11 seen as the earliest he is expected to feature.

Many of PSG’s players were rested on Tuesday and it wasn’t until Wednesday morning that Messi was reunited with some of his teammates.

As well as Neymar he was seen reuniting with Nuno Mendes and Carlos Soler in the changing room.

Messi took advantage of being at home to celebrate Argentina’s first World Cup victory since 1986.

Just a few days ago, a video surfaced of her dancing at her nephew’s 15th birthday party, an event where she was mobbed by her fans on the route.

The celebrations in Buenos Aires began with an open top bus parade which was later cut short due to safety concerns for the players.

Bus travel in the city had to be evacuated as a result of so many supporters coming out to salute their heroes, as well as some climbing to the top of bridges to try to get on the bus.

Most of Messi’s time in Argentina has been behind closed doors in Rosario, appearing only on a few occasions during Christmas and New Year.

The side parade had to be abandoned and ended by helicopter after the bus was mobbed

As well as picking up a World Cup winner’s medal in his absence, Messi also received an ‘Illustrious Citizen’ plaque for his exploits in Qatar from the Mayor of Funes, Roly Santacroce.

In a video on social media acknowledging the honor, the star thanked fans for their support and apologized for being less visible to the public.

‘Well, we want to send our greetings to all the people of Funes, Rosario in general,’ he said.

‘We want to thank you for the love you always show us, especially now at this time when I just came from the World Cup.

‘Forgive us too because sometimes it’s hard to see everyone, we spend some days with family and friends and sometimes it’s complicated.’

Messi is set to stay at PSG and has signed a new one-year deal with the club until June 2024

There is growing hope in France, and in the Spanish media, that Messi will pen a new one-year deal to stay at PSG.

According to Marca everything points to the 35-year-old putting pen to paper on a new one-year deal until June 30, 2024, with confirmation as early as this week viewed as possible.

An offer has been on the table for Messi since the start of the season from PSG, with the French club keen to keep the megastar in Paris.

Messi joined PSG in an emotional move from Barcelona in 2021. In his first season he scored 11 times in 34 games.