One of the best players in history, Lionel Messi is close to leaving the French side Paris Saint-Germain. Negotiations between the footballer and the club to extend the contract have stalled. Where will the Argentine go in the summer – in the material “RBC Sport”
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Argentine footballer Lionel Messi is likely to leave Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the summer of 2023. It was then that his contract with the Parisian team ends. By messages leading European media, negotiations between the player and the club to extend the contract have stalled.
To stay at PSG, the Argentine will have to agree to a significant reduction in his salary – by 25%. It is noted that the French club is ready to keep Messi only on these conditions. Now he receives €3.375 million a month.
The football player, in turn, also set PSG several conditions during the negotiations. Messi wants to continue to play in the Champions League and fight for trophies. This season, PSG were eliminated in the 1/8 finals of the tournament by Bayern Munich.
Messi has been with PSG since the summer of 2021. The Argentine has made 33 appearances for the club this season, scoring 18 goals and providing 17 assists.
The likely options for continuing Messi’s career are Barcelona, Inter from Miami and the Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal.
Barcelona (Spain)
Messi’s move to his native Barcelona, for which he played from 2003 to 2021, is most likely. In September 2022, the Argentine met with Barcelona President Joan Laporta and discussed options for returning to the Catalan club.
Then Messi said in a conversation with Laporta that he was ready to discuss his return to the Spanish team after the World Cup in Qatar, which ended in December with the triumph of Argentina.
Laporta himself demonstrated that interest in the football player remains. In March, on ESPN, he stated that the doors of the club were open if Messi decided to return to Barcelona.
“The state in which I inherited the club when I became president was not very good and I had to make a decision that I am not too happy with. I have to find a way to improve Messi’s relationship with Barça. We’ll see what happens, but he knows the doors are open for him,” Laporta said.
Also in summer 2022 Sport.es informedthat Barcelona head coach Xavi asked Laporta to bring the Argentine back to the team next summer.
Former Real Madrid and Russian national team coach Fabio Capello considers Barcelona the most likely option to continue Messi’s career. “I have been reading lately about Messi leaving. Unfortunately, he failed to write history in Paris. When it comes to his future, Barcelona is the most likely option. Xavi is currently coaching there, he and Messi are friends. I think that they can manage to build a strong team that will play in the Champions League final,” Capello told RBC Sport.
Al-Hilal (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)
Al-Hilal from Saudi Arabia is also interested in signing Messi. Club did the Paris Saint-Germain forward was offered a contract with a salary of more than €400 million a year.
But according to popular insider Fabrizio Romano, this option is not a priority for Messi, as he wants to continue playing for a European club that is fighting in the Champions League.
Al-Hilal is the most titled club in Saudi Arabia, 18-time champion of the country and four-time winner of the Asian Champions League.
In the standings of the Saudi Premier League, Al-Hilal is in third place, losing seven points to Al-Nasr Cristiano Ronaldo and eight to the leaders Al-Ittihad.
Inter Miami (USA)
Photo: Social media David Beckham
The latest club to fight for Messi is Inter from Miami. American team did proposal to the Argentine. Also, the US club is ready to offer the player a stake in the club.
However, the Argentine had previously rejected Inter’s offers. In November 2022, football player representative Marcelo Mendez declaredthat the player is not negotiating with a US team. “This is a lie, this is fake news. There are no talks for Lionel to join Inter Miami next season,” Mendez said.
Inter Miami was founded in 2018. One of the team’s owners is former England and Manchester United midfielder David Beckham.
Inter in 2022, according to the results of the regular season, became the sixth in the MLS Eastern Conference, and in the first round of the playoffs lost to New York City with a score of 0:3.
Nikita Bad.
