Football fans are counting down the days until Lionel Messi makes his debut for Paris Saint-Germain.
The six-time Ballon D’Or winner arrived in the French capital this week to sign a staggering two-year deal worth approximately £620,000 per week.
He immediately made a strong first impression turning up to training two hours early to get to know his new surroundings and new coaches.
PSG fans are drooling at the thought of him linking up with the likes of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe; with swathes upon swathes of PSG fans lining the streets to catch a glimpse of their new star.
However, the rest of Ligue One have not been so welcoming to the former Barcelona man’s arrival.
PSG are significantly wealthier than the rest of the teams in the top division of French football.
Current Marseille manager Jorge Sampaoli is one of the recent managers to highlight his dismay at the Parisian side’s spending power.
“These days power is stronger than justice, and [Messi’s] arrival increases this disparity. Everyone will watch Ligue 1, but it also generates a great difference in power which moves us away from justice," Sampaoli SAID to RMC sport.
It is an interesting response from the former Argentina manager who managed Messi in the 2018 World Cup.
The former Chile manager's thoughts also comes three days after Lille captain Jose Fonte said he was bemused by the fact PSG were able to sign Messi and still remain within the confines of Financial Fair Play rules.
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Speaking to talkSPORT, he said: "I just want to understand the Financial Fair Play in France.
"Every single club is restricting their spending. They can’t buy a lot, they can’t get players on big wages but then PSG comes and it looks like there’s no law.
"Everyone had to tighten the budget at Lille, some players had to reduce their wages.
"Then you come to PSG and you see Donnarumma, Ramos, Wijnaldum signing.”
PSG also secured the £54 million signing of Inter Milan right-wing-back Achraf Hakimi.
Lille stunned the footballing world last season when they beat PSG to the French Ligue One title.
However, any chances of Christopher Galtier’s side repeating the feat have taken an almighty blow as they have had to sell pivotal players such as Mike Maignan, Boubakary Soumare, and Luiz Araujo.
On the other hand, PSG owner Nasser Al-Khelaifi has been adamant in his stance that his side have obeyed all FFP rules.
"Regarding the financial aspect, I will make it clear — we know the rules of FFP and we will always follow the regulations," he said.
"Before we do anything, we check with commercial, financial and legal people. We have the capacity.
"If we sign Leo, it’s because we can, otherwise we would not have done it.
"What Leo brings to the club is huge, which you can see just outside (the stadium, where thousands of fans had gathered). He is a big asset.”
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