• Lionel Messi flies to Paris from his hometown of Rosario.
• Argentina captain spent Christmas and New Year’s with his family.
• The 35-year-old missed Ligue 1’s first two games after World Cup.

Lionel Messi, the captain of Argentina, finally flew to Paris on a private jet late on Monday after spending a long time in his hometown of Rosario celebrating the team’s World Cup win last month.

Local sources says Messi left with his wife Antonela Roccuzzo and sons Mateo, Thiago, and Ciro at 10 p.m. (0100 GMT).

The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner arrived in Rosario, which is about 310 kilometres north of Buenos Aires, two days after his two goals helped Argentina beat France in the World Cup final in Qatar on December 18.

Tuesday around 1400 GMT, the private jet will land in Paris.

Messi spent Christmas and New Year’s with his family and PSG coach Christophe Galtier indicated last week that he anticipated Messi to return on “January 2 or 3.”

So, the 35-year-old missed the top team in Ligue 1’s first two games after the World Cup.

He should, however, be able to play for PSG against Chateauroux in the French Cup on Friday. There, he would be reunited with French teammate Kylian Mbappe, who scored a hat trick in the World Cup final but lost to Argentina on penalties after a 3-3 draw.

Many fans saw Messi off at the international airport in Rosario, but they were kept away from the forward and his family by a large security force.

Argentina won the World Cup for the third time in December. It was their first win since the late great Diego Maradona led them to victory in 1986.

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