Pressure now on Pochettino to deliver

Lionel Messi’s arrival at Paris Saint-Germain has left the club with the most frightening front line in the sport, but now coach Mauricio Pochettino is under pressure to deliver the glory on the pitch that its Qatari owners covet more than anything.

That means winning the Champions League, a competition in which PSG have reached the final and then the semifinals in the last two seasons.

It also, of course, means reclaiming the French title after Lille beat them to it last season — how could a team containing Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe not win Ligue 1?

“We don’t hide that it’s our objective,” PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi said at Messi’s unveiling when asked about the Champions League.

Not an obligation

However, he later told sports daily L’Equipe “it is not an obligation”, despite the arrival of the six-time Ballon d’Or winner.

“We have a great team, but we have not won anything yet,” he added.

Messi and Neymar, old pals from Barcelona, are delighted to team up again but there is speculation that Mbappe — with just a year left on his contract — is not happy about having to share even more of the limelight.

PSG do not want to let him go though, and Pochettino will have to ensure that fielding that all-star front three, as well as Angel di Maria, does not overly imbalance the team.

That is why PSG’s other summer signings are crucial.

The arrival of Georginio Wijnaldum from Liverpool adds much-needed quality in midfield alongside Marco Verratti, while Achraf Hakimi was just what they required at right-back.

Luxury options

Sergio Ramos and Gianluigi Donnarumma are luxury options in defence and in goal.

PSG won its opening game of the league season 2-1 at Troyes last weekend and now hosts Strasbourg on Saturday, when Messi is set to be paraded before the crowd.

The Argentine, who has not had a pre-season to speak of, will have to wait a while yet for his debut.

It also remains to be seen if Neymar will feature this weekend following his late return to pre-season training after playing for Brazil in the Copa America.

Ramos is not expected to make his PSG debut at least until next week, but Mbappe will play against Strasbourg amid ongoing talk of a move to Real Madrid.

Christophe Galtier led Lille to a stunning title triumph last season but then left to join Nice, a club with lofty ambitions under its owner Ineos, the group chaired by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe.