Unsanctioned flights, disappointing droughts, and eight reasons why it all went wrong for Lionel Messi at PSG

On Thursday, Paris Saint-Germain manager Christophe Galtier announced what the world already knew: Lionel Messi will not play for the Ligue 1 champions next season.

Galtier's statement was unsurprisingly short for a player that had been an immense distraction for some months. He acknowledged that Messi is the greatest player of all time, and called on irritated PSG fans to give him a "warm welcome" at Parc des Princes on Saturday — something they will undoubtedly struggle to do.

And that was it. The player, signed to massive fanfare two years ago, five months removed from lifting the World Cup and still the favourite to win the Ballon d'Or, got two uninterested sentences from his manager. Galtier's statement summed up Messi's PSG career perfectly, though.

For all of his brilliance, Messi has never really impressed at PSG in the same way he did for Barcelona. In some senses, that's no shock. He is in his mid-thirties, and never wanted to leave his boyhood club. But it's more complex than that. So, where did it all go wrong for the GOAT at PSG?