Messi tug-of-war: Argentina, PSG reach agreement over playing time

French club Paris Saint-Germain and the Argentine national football team have been butting heads over the past week after Lionel Messi was called up by his country to play in this month's FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The selection came despite the fact that he has just missed a string of matches for his club due to injury. It has now been reported that Argentina and PSG have been in contact to reach a compromise about how to utilise the player.

Messi joined PSG this summer with the understanding that he will always make himself available when his national team side needs him. this is all well and good except for the fact that his injuries have led to a conflict between the two sides.

Earlier this month, Messi missed crucial matches for PSG due to a knee injury. He visited a regenerative therapy clinic in Madrid to undergo treatment, but had to fly straight to south America to link up with his Argentina teammates.

This has caused PSG sporting director Leonardo to speak up against the call-up. Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni has claimed that it is well within their rights to call up their captain, but Marca reports that he has at least agreed to a compromise with the Ligue 1 giants.

In Argentina's first match this international break against Uruguay, Messi started from the bench. The captain has not come in as a substitute in five years, but Scaloni admitted that it was the right thing to do considering the player's recent injury.

However, he added that allowing Messi to play for around 20 minutes was crucial in the build-up to their next match against Brazil. While he eased Messi into action, it appears as though he fully intends to start Messi when they face the Brazlians. "We decided that he shouldn't play because he came from a period of inactivity. Going into the second half we needed him to pick up pace ahead of Brazil," he said.

PSG would much rather have the player resting to fully recover, but it won't hurt having him get back to match fitness as soon as possible. Playing for Argentina may help him hit the ground running when club football resumes, but there is a risk of exacerbating the injury. Leonardo will not be happy should Messi return to France with another knock.