‘Something needs to be found’ – Lionel Messi is ‘isolated’ at PSG who remain ‘Kylian Mbappe’s team’, says Thierry Henry

PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN must do more to get the best out of ‘isolated’ Lionel Messi, says Thierry Henry.

The 34-year-old arrived at Parc des Princes as a free agent in the summer after leaving Barcelona.

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Following his glittering career at the Nou Camp, the Argentine forward has made something of a slow start in France and is yet to get off the mark in Ligue 1.

Arsenal legend Henry played with Messi for three years at Barcelona and he believes his lack of goals is down to PSG's need to accommodate him alongside Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.

The Frenchman told : “He [Messi] is isolated, he is on the ball less.

“I wouldn't say he's sad, but he's isolated. I prefer him through the middle.

“I'm having trouble with Leo out on the right. In the middle, he can set the tempo. 

“Something needs to be found in order to get Mbappe, Neymar and Messi to play together.”

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Henry thinks Messi is having to adjust to playing in a team that is not designed around him and has Mbappe as its focal point.

He continued: “Messi doesn't speak a lot, he speaks with the ball.

“For now, it's Kylian's team. Kylian is the one who's making it shine most of all. The ball goes more towards him.

“At any single moment there can only be one conductor, otherwise you can't play at the same tempo. And in this team, there are too many conductors.”

Boss Mauricio Pochettino has often deployed Messi on the right of a front three, with Mbappe central and Neymar on the left. 

But Henry suggested confining Messi to that one area is stifling him.

He added: “I don't think he can make the difference on the right, but then I don't have the exact details from the tactical standpoint.

“Obviously when you stay high up and you get out of the way, you won't have an impact. Then you have fewer balls going towards him.”

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