PSG ‘weaker’ with Lionel Messi in the team, Michael Owen claims

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Michael Owen has claimed that Paris Saint-Germain are a weaker side after the addition of Lionel Messi.

Messi made his Champions League debut for the club in the 1-1 draw against Club Bruges, starting alongside Neymar and Kylian Mbappe as the Belgians frustrated Mauricio Pochettino’s side.

Speaking after the game, Owen explained that he believes that picking the illustrious front three in combination weakens the French capital club.

“As much as we drool over this PSG team with those forwards - I don’t really understand why they’re one of the favourites for it [the Champions League],” Owen explained on BT Sport.

“They’re all phenomenal players in their own right but three together makes it weaker for me.

“I think the English [Champions League] teams are far, far superior.”

Messi arrived in Paris after leaving Barcelona due to the Spanish club’s financial issues.

He is yet to score for the Qatari-owned club having joined during a summer of free-spending that attracted some of Europe’s most high-profile stars to PSG.

And Owen does not believe that fellow former Ballon d’Or winner Messi is even the summer signing most critical to PSG’s chances of continental success.

“I almost feel as though the signing of the likes of [Gianluigi] Donnarumma and Sergio Ramos gives them more of a chance of winning [the Champions League] than the signing of someone like Messi,” Owen said.

Ramos has not yet made his debut for PSG after leaving Real Madrid, while Donnarumma did not feature against Club Bruges, with Keylor Navas starting in goal.