I don’t have any friends on the field
Paris Saint-Germain fullback Achuraf Hakimi is excited to face former teammate Lionel Messi at the Club World Cup, but warned that he “has no friends on the field.”
PSG set up Messi’s final 16 meetings with Intermiami yesterday, winning goals for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Hakimi 2-0 against the Seattle Sounders.
Miami advanced in a 2-2 draw with Palmeiras.
Next meeting: 16 rounds of Intermiami! 👊
Free follow meetings @dazn_fr #fifacwc pic.twitter.com/mvd2r9qxlz
– Paris Saint-Germain (@psg_inside) June 24, 2025
Atlanta is ready for a reunion party
That means there will be a great reunion in Atlanta on Sunday. Messi can see some of the PSG players he shared his dressing room during a largely unfortunate two-year spell at Argentina’s Parc de Princess. Jordi Alba, Luis Suarez, Sergio Basquetz and Javier Mascherano will also face Luis Enrique, who managed for Barcelona.
It promises to be an emotional opportunity, but Hakimi insists that there is no old peer behavior by speaking before equipment is confirmed.
He told Le Parisien:
“We see who we’re going to play against, but then we don’t have any friends on the field. He tries to win, he also wins. He gives everything he tries to pass to the next round.”
PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma is also looking forward to meeting Messi.
The Italian said: “It’s great for me. It’s great for me. I lived with him for two years. It was a great year of two years playing with the greatest players in the world.
“But now he’s already won a lot of titles, so I hope we win.”
Players are tired – Bicinya
PSG had admitted to Seattle and Portuguese midfielder Vitanya that he admitted that the players were tired after a long season.
“Yes, we feel the fatigue that’s there,” he said. “I think that shows.
“This is in our case, but it’s also for other teams. If we’re not good, we don’t hide behind fatigue and the amount of game. But that’s true, it exists.
“I want to get to the end of the competition, so I need to recover well to prepare for my next game. I’ll focus on the next game.”
PSG focused on the present-day-vitinha
The surprising defeat to Botafogo on PSG’s previous outing meant that Luis Enrique’s plan to let some players rest in order to start their respective group games within eight days of Donnarumma, Hakimi, Willian Pacho, Vitinha, Kvaratskhelia and Desire Doué.
But Bicinha insists that the end goal remains the same. Add the Club World Cup to the Champions League crown.
He added: “It’s a great opportunity to play the Club World Cup, and like my coach told us, we don’t know when this opportunity will reappear.
“There’s a lot of things that can happen. It’s a great competition, so you have to take advantage of the present. We try not to look back at the amount of games that have already been played.