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    Christophe Galtier confirms Lionel Messi’s departure from PSG at the end of the season

    Lionel Messi will leave Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season, manager Christophe Galtier has confirmed.

    The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner will make his last appearance for the club in the Ligue 1 final against Clermont on Saturday.

    The departure of the 35-year-old after two years at PSG was long overdue and Galtier made the announcement at a press conference on Thursday.

    “I will take away the fact that I have had the honor of coaching the best football player of all time, Leo Messi,” Galtier said in a comment posted on the club’s website psg.fr.

    “Saturday will be his last game at the Parc des Princes. I hope he gets the best welcome.”

    Messi left Barcelona for PSG amid the financial crisis at the Catalan club in 2021.

    The Argentine World Cup winner helped Paris win two Ligue 1 titles, but despite an impressive record this season, his relationship with the club appears to have soured.

    Last month, he was suspended for two weeks after an unauthorized trip to Saudi Arabia.

    He has since been linked with a future move to a Middle Eastern country as well as the United States and a return to Barcelona.

    Galtier was keen to pay tribute to his contributions on the field.

    He said: “He was always available, always present at training.

    “Despite the comments or criticism, which I consider completely unfounded, he has always been at the service of the team, both as an assistant and as a scorer.

    “He is 35 years old, in the middle of the season there was a World Cup. His stats are outside the World Cup, correct me if I’m wrong, but I think he scored 21 goals and 22 assists, which means he (contributed) 43 times this season.”

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