🧠 Four ways PSG could line up with Lionel Messi | OneFootball

Messi and Neymar are reunited, and this time they Kylian Mbappé, not Luis Suárez, to complete a star-studded front three.

If that’s how Mauricio Pochettino chooses to use them.

How will the PSG boss line up with his fellow Argentine now added to the ranks?

False nine

If they go all out to get all their biggest names in the side, this is probably the only way to do it. There are obvious worries about work-rate and how much the midfield will cover for a front three that may ignore some of its defensive duties.

To that effect, we’ve also gone with Ramos over Marquinhos, just to illustrate how all-out and aggressive PSG could line up.

A lot could depend on how much more defensive work Pochettino can eke out of Neymar, with 34-year-old Messi having to reserve his energy for when he’s on the ball.

But on the whole, Pochettino is probably more likely to rotate which of his big names misses out in order to achieve the right balance in his side.

Messi on the right and a more balanced midfield?

Ángel Di María could be the big loser if Papa Gueye (or Danilo Pereira) is brought in to solidify midfield, especially with Messi more than capable of playing on Di María’s favoured right flank.

Using Kimpembe at left-back could also offset some of the attack-minded approach further upfield.

The explosiveness Messi has lost (compared to a few years ago — he’s still more explosive than most!) over the past few years could be made up by the attack-minded Achraf Hakimi on the overlap, though you’d have concerns about those two as a pairing and a lot would fall on the midfield to cover the pair of them.

This midfield is more likely to do that than the one that also includes Di María, who works hard but is now 33 himself and still much more of a creative player than he is a workhorse.

The front three, though, is a mouth-watering reminder of that Barcelona side with Neymar, Messi and Suárez, with the first two reclaiming their roles from before Neymar’s switch to France.

Messi at 10

Pochettino’s favoured formation at PSG last season was 4-2-3-1, with Neymar used centrally and given the keys to the team. He might have to settle for moving back out wide to accomodate Messi. Especially if and when Pochettino wants to get all four of his attacking stars on the pitch.

This setup could lend itself to a more solid midfield base, allowing the front four and Hakimi to do their thing with Verratti supplying the bullets.

The obvious loser from the switch would likely be fellow free transfer Georginio Wijnaldum, who is more suited to playing in a three-man midfield, but he does at least have the intelligence to play a more disciplined role if required.

Back three

With all that attacking talent, maybe you just let them do their thing and line up with an extra defender?

That front three, two wingbacks, a couple of disciplined but creative midfielders. That’d work out, right?