Lionel Messi bids farewell to PSG amid boos
Paris: Lionel Messi didn’t care about the boos in his final game for Paris Saint-Germain as the French league champion lost to Clermont 3-2 on Saturday.
Disrespectful PSG supporters booed Messi when the Parc des Princes announcer read his name on a warm evening. A few minutes later, Messi walked onto the field with a smile on his face, holding his three children’s hands before the team photo and kissing them on their foreheads before kickoff.
“I would like to thank the club, the city of Paris and its people for these two years. I wish you all the best for the future,” Messi told the club website.
In two seasons at PSG, Messi won two French leagues and the French Champions Trophy and notched 32 goals and 35 assists in all competitions.
Messi scored in a 1-1 draw at Strasbourg a week ago to help PSG clinch a record-extending 11th French league title. By notching a 496th career league goal, the Argentine genius also broke Cristiano Ronaldo’s scoring record for Europe’s top five leagues.
The World Cup winner didn’t sign the contract extension that Qatar-backed PSG offered him and has been strongly linked with a move to a Saudi club where he could earn more money than Ronaldo. Inter Miami is another possible option but wouldn’t be able to match the Saudi offer of hundreds of millions of dollars.
Messi tried hard to get on the scoresheet on the final day of the French league. He had a shot parried by Clermont goalkeeper Mory Diaw in the 14th minute, hit a snapshot wide in the 31st and curled a free kick over the bar in the 42nd.
A selfless Kylian Mbappe made a solo run in the 54th to tee up Messi, who blazed over the bar. Messi nearly found the net in the 59th but Diaw turned his low drive around the post. Diaw denied Messi again in stoppage time, palming away a free kick.
After the final whistle, Messi hugged his teammates and shook hands with the Clermont players.
PSG took a 2-0 lead with a header from the departing Sergio Ramos in the 16th and a penalty from Mbappe in the 21st.
But Clermont leveled before halftime with goals by Johan Gatien and Mehdi Zeffane.
Grejohn Kyei scored the winner by converting a cross in the 63rd.
Despite his aging legs, Messi has produced moments of magic this season; an overhead kick against Clermont last August, a ball over the top for Mbappe to score against Lille in August that was the joint-fastest goal in the league, a free kick in stoppage time to beat Lille in February, and a perfectly timed throughball for Mbappe against Brest in March.
There were hopes Messi would stay another year in Paris after expressing his happiness at the club in March.
“Yes, it’s true that I feel very well,” Messi told the club website. “The first year, I needed a little time to adapt to Paris for different reasons, but I started this season really differently, with a lot of desire. I feel more comfortable with the club, with the city, with everything that Paris means. And the truth is that I am really enjoying this season.”
But the mood changed after PSG’s exit in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Messi was expected to be the missing piece of the puzzle for the club in the quest for a first Champions League trophy. But PSG lacked the structure and balance of the Argentina team where Julian Alvarez up front and Rodrigo De Paul on the right wing did the dirty work for Messi.
PSG fans have jeered Messi in the past couple of months as his form dipped after he helped Argentina win the World Cup.
Then relations with the club deteriorated last month when Messi was suspended by PSG after an unauthorized trip to Saudi Arabia. Messi has a commercial contract with Saudi Arabia to promote tourism in that country.
Despite the embarrassment for Qatar, PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi seemed to show no hard feelings on Saturday.
“His contribution to Paris Saint-Germain and Ligue 1 cannot be understated and we wish Leo and his family all the best for the future,” Al-Khelaifi told the club website.
تكفون لا بتدفعون لذا ٢ مليار #Messi pic.twitter.com/0x4poTtmzG
— k (@22Pink_poison) June 3, 2023
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Kolhapur’s Saee Jadhav becomes first woman Territorial Army officer to pass out of IMA
Pune (PTI): Saee Jadhav from Maharashtra’s Kolhapur has become the first woman Territorial Army officer to complete pre-commissioning training at the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun, breaking the institution’s 93-year-old tradition of male-only officer training.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis congratulated her and said her achievement is an inspiring milestone that gives direction to the dreams of countless young girls across the country.
Jadhav, 23, was commissioned as a Lieutenant during the Passing Out Parade of the 157th course held last week, marking a historic milestone for the IMA, which was established in 1932 and has since produced generations of Army officers.
She was commissioned into the services on December 13 during the commissioning ceremony at IMA, Dehradun.
Speaking to PTI, Saee’s father Sandip Jadhav, a serving major with the Territorial Army, said that Saee has been commissioned into the 130 Territorial Army (ecological ) battalion of Kumaon Regiment at Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand.
Saee is currently pursuing her MBA through distance learning, he said.
“While pursuing her MBA, she was also preparing for competitive exams and TA (Territorial Army). She appeared for the exam in December 2023. There was only one vacancy for a woman officer in TA and since her rank was at the top in merit, she was selected,” said Major Jadhav.
“She is now commissioned into 130 Infantry Battalion (TA) of Kumaon Regiment at Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand,” he said.
Jadhav said her daughter was inclined to join the armed forces, given the family’s armed forces background. “As parents, we feel proud that our daughter followed her dream and chose to serve the nation,” he added.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also congratulated “Marathi Mulgi” Saee.
“She has created history by becoming first woman officer cadet to pass out of IMA in 93 years… It is a matter of immense pride that this honour has gone to a Marathi Mulgi!,” he wrote in a post on X.
“This is not just an individual success story, but an inspiring milestone that gives direction to the dreams of countless young girls across the country. Educated and brought up in Belgaum and originally from Kolhapur, Sai represents the 4th generation of the Jadhav family to carry forward the legacy of service to the nation,” he added.
