Paris Saint-Germain full-back Achraf Hakimi is excited at the prospect of facing former team-mate Lionel Messi at the Club World Cup but warned “on the field, there are no friends”.
PSG set up a last-16 meeting with Messi’s Inter Miami yesterday with goals from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Hakimi seeing them to a 2-0 win against the Seattle Sounders.
Miami advanced via a 2-2 draw with Palmeiras.
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Atlanta ready for reunion party
It means there will be reunions aplenty in Atlanta on Sunday. Messi will get to see several of the PSG players he shared a dressing room with during a largely unhappy two-year spell at the Parc des Princes while the Argentine, as well as Jordi Alba, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Javier Mascherano, will come up against Luis Enrique, who managed them at Barcelona.
It promises to be an emotional occasion but Hakimi, speaking before the fixture was confirmed, insists there will be no old pals act.
He told Le Parisien: “It would be nice to meet Messi again. There were many beautiful moments.
“We will see who we play against but then, on the field, there are no friends. He will try to win and we will also try to win. We will give everything to try to pass to the next round.”
PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma is also looking forward to seeing Messi.
The Italian said: “It’s fantastic for us, it’s fantastic for me. I lived two years with him, it was a two fantastic years where we played with the greatest player in the world.
“But now I hope we will win because he has already won many titles.”
Players are tired – Vitinha
PSG were not at their sparking best against Seattle and Portugal midfielder Vitinha admitted the players were tired after a long season.
“Yes, we feel the fatigue that is there,” he said. “I think it shows.
“This is the case for us, but for the other teams too. If we are not good, we will not hide behind fatigue and the amount of games. But it’s true, it exists.
“You have to recover well to be ready for the next one because you want to go until the end of the competition. We focus on the next game.”
PSG focused on the present – Vitinha
PSG’s surprise defeat to Botafogo in their previous outing meant Luis Enrique’s plan to rest several players had to be shelved to ensure qualification with Donnarumma, Hakimi, Willian Pacho, Vitinha, Kvaratskhelia and Desire Doué starting each of the group games inside eight days.
But Vitinha insists the end goal remains the same; to add the Club World Cup to their Champions League crown.
He added: “It’s a great opportunity to play a Club World Cup. As the coach told us, we don’t know when this opportunity will reappear.
“Many things can happen, you have to take advantage of the present because it is a great competition. We try not to look back on the amount of games already played and we focus on the joy of playing and being here.”
