PARIS — Lionel Messi has made his Paris Saint-Germain debut, coming on for Neymar after 66 minutes in a clash against Reims.

It is the first time that Messi has played a competitive club match for a team other than Barcelona.

He arrived at PSG earlier in August after Barcelona were forced to release him for financial reasons.

Previously in the game, Kylian Mbappe had given PSG a first-half lead, with the forward netting despite rumours linking him with a move to Real Madrid in the days leading up to the game.

He had netted a second moments before Messi came on, making it 2-0 for the visitors.

The much-anticipated moment came just one minute after Mbappe's second goal, as Messi came on for his former Barca team-mate Neymar.

Messi's performance was relatively low key as there were no major moments in favour of his side following his arrival. He took up a position as a No.10 playing behind Mbappe and linked well with the centre-forward. — Agencies