Lionel Messi makes debut for Paris St. Germain as a sub in win over Reims
For the first time in Lionel Messi's storied, 17-year professional career, he took the field for a club team not named Barcelona.
Following his groundbreaking decision to join Paris St. Germain earlier this month, Messi made his debut for the Ligue 1 giants as a second-half substitute against Reims on Sunday.
The anticipation of the moment was palpable.
PSG listed the 34-year-old Argentine on the team sheet — albeit on the bench — and teased the moment with a video of his jersey ahead of the match.
Fans gathered in throngs outside the team hotel, clamoring to get a glance at Messi and the star-laden PSG squad.
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As mentioned, Messi started Sunday's action on PSG's bench, as manager Mauricio Pochettino opted for a front-three trio of Neymar, Kylian Mbappé and Ángel Di María.
Mbappé got Paris off and running early against Reims, firing home in the 15th minute with a towering header.
The 22-year-old Mbappé added another goal in the 63rd minute off of a sweet feed from left-back Achraf Hakimi, pushing the score to 2-0 in favor of the visitors.
Even so, all eyes were glued to the PSG sideline in anticipation of Messi's introduction. Even his warming up caused a stir.
Minutes after Mbappé's second goal, the much-anticipated moment arrived.
In the 66th minute, Messi came on the pitch as a professional of Paris St. Germain. Fittingly, he made his debut in place of Neymar, a fellow superstar and Messi's former teammate at Barcelona from 2013 to 2017.
Despite having what amounted to largely a cameo appearance, Messi made sure to remind folks why he's considered one of the greatest to ever play the game.
He picked up three fouls and successfully completed 20 of his 21 pass attempts, a 95.2% rate, according to WhoScored.com.
Although he didn't find the back of the net or pick out a teammate to add to PSG's tally, he garnered plenty of reaction.
For instance, how often does a losing goalkeeper stop to get a photo of his son with an opponent?
Then again, how often does Messi make his debut at a professional club?
PSG went on to win 2-0 and remain perfect through four games in the early going of the Ligue 1 season, but Messi remained the headliner.
Here's how social media reacted to Messi's monumental moment Sunday:
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