Messi 'very happy' at PSG & has no regrets over choosing them after Barca exit

Lionel Messi has revealed he has no regrets about swapping Barcelona for PSG and that he's 'very happy' in the French capital, despite a relatively slow start to life in Ligue 1.

The Argentine shocked world football in August when he left Barcelona after 21 years with the Catalan giants - 16 of which in the first team - to move to PSG after the Blaugrana admitted they could not afford to keep him.

Barca president Joan Laporta revealed the club had recorded a £409 million loss last year, pushing the debt up to over £1 billion and forcing the club to part ways with their greatest ever player.

'Barca issued the statement saying that I was not going to continue and from that point on I started to wonder how I was going to bounce back,' Messi told France Football.

'I had to find a new club to continue my career.'

Laporta said that had Messi remained on Barcelona's books, the club's wage bill would have amounted to 110 percent of their income this season.

The six-time Ballon d'Or winner had offered to take a 50 percent pay cut to remain at the Nou Camp, but not even that would have eased Barcelona's deep financial woes.

Messi immediately became the most sought-after free agent in football and revealed that while several clubs came knocking, it didn't long for him to be won over by PSG's offer.

'I was lucky to be contacted by several clubs including PSG.

' I am grateful to the club because from the start they treated me very well,' he explained.

'They showed they really wanted me and took care of me.

'I thank them because I am very happy today. I received other offers, but [...] we came to an agreement with PSG quite quickly.

'I was obviously won over by the project, the players it has, the quality of the group […] all these elements made it easier to find an agreement.'

Messi has linked up with a strong Argentine contingent in the French capital, beginning with former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino and his Albiceleste teammates Angel di Maria and Mauro Icardi.

More importantly, he was also reunited with Neymar, whom he played with for four seasons at Barcelona, winning two LaLiga titles, the 2015 Champions League and three Spanish Cups.

'Knowing that I had friends in the locker room allowed me to tell myself that things were going to be simple for me to adjust,' Messi said.

'And I was not wrong, because it was very easy to integrate myself, especially because there are many players who speak Spanish like me.'

Life in his new surroundings, however, has got off to a harder start than expected for Messi, who has played in just three of PSG' nine league games so far and is yet to open his Ligue 1 account.

His only goal for his new club came in a 2-0 win over Manchester City in the Champions League.

Messi's comments come just a day after Laporta revealed he hoped the Argentine would agree to play for Barcelona for free in order to remain at the Nou Camp.

'Everything indicates that he already had the offer from PSG,' he told Catalan radio station RAC1 via Mundo Deportivo.

'Everyone knew that he had a very powerful offer. We knew that from Messi's side they had a very good offer.

'I did hope that at the last minute Messi would say he would play for free.

'I would have liked that and he would have convinced me. I understand that the League would have accepted it.

'But we cannot ask that of a player of his level.