Rumour has it: We might be seeing the end of Lionel Messi’s tenure with French Ligue 1 giant Paris Saint-Germain two years after the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner moved away from Spain to France. The news about La Pulga leaving the ten-time Ligue 1 winner and return to his boyhood club Barcelona have been brewing for quite some time already and recent events have suggested that these might turn into realities in the coming summer transfer window, where Messi is set to end his contract with the French club.
Booed by PSG’s Fans
La Pulga was closed to nailing a contract extension with Paris Saint-Germain at the end of last year, after the former captained his country Argentina to its third World Cup victory in Qatar. Nevertheless, inconsistent form in the league and early exit in the UEFA Champions League had made fans dissatisfy with the team’s performance, and they have taken to the pitch and internet to blame Messi for these poor displays. Such a circumstance certainly left bad impressions towards the Argentine skipper, and he is now considering to leave the French capital to join another club, with the Major League Soccer and Saudi Pro League all showing interests to win the signature of the 35-year-old player.
Paris Saint-Germain won only once in its previous four games in all competitions, including two consecutive losses at home in French Ligue 1. Spectators showed their disapproval during the matches and even booed Lionel Messi whenever he touched the ball during the match. For a player with a calibre like La Pulga, he had not received such treatments during the 20 years with his previous club Barcelona, and it is only reasonable for him to plan for a move away from his current club. It was reported that he had initially agreed to a one-year extension to stay in France, but recent events may steer his decision the other way around.
In relation to this, Barcelona’s vice president Rafael Yuste spoke about the chances of Messi returning to Spain in this coming summer, stating that “He would love to have him back, given the influence he had on fans, sporting, economic, social levels, etc.” and “All beautiful stories must have a happy ending”. At the end of his public response to the question, the 62-year-old also confirmed that Barca camp is in talks with Lionel Messi and his agent dad Jorge Mendes over the possible transfer.
View this post on Instagram
Al-Hilal’s €400M per Year Proposal
Messi’s possible return to Spain will signal a reunion with former Barca teammate Xavi, who is the current head coach of the Catalan Giants; The duo of course had played together for more than a decade, winning almost every major silverware possible, such as La Liga, Copa del Rey, Supercopa de España, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, etc. Messi’s leadership and experience certainly will bring up the maturity of the current Barca squad.
Barcelona is not the only club that showed its desire to win Messi back to Catalan, it is reported that Saudi Pro League’s Al-Hilal had made a whooping €400m per year bid for the Argentine’s signature. Should Messi does agree to sign with the Saudi club, he will become the highest earner ever in the history of football, with a fee that is two times better than Cristiano Ronaldo’s current deal with Al-Nassr. Furthermore, Messi’s possible relocation to the Middle-State will reignite the long rivalry between him and Ronaldo that stretch back more than 16 years ago.
As for Lionel Messi, his camp had stated that the player’s desire is to remain at the top tier of European club football, as he planned to retain his physicality and fitness level for another major international tournament, like the 2024 Copa América; Argentina is of course the current holder of the competition, having won the 2021 tournament with La Pulga being the skipper, best player and joint top scorer.
The MLS say they will help Inter Miami attempt summer move for Lionel Messihttps://t.co/K0itkVotHw
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) March 7, 2023
Elsewhere in the Premier League in England, Liverpool and Chelsea played a nil-nil draw at Stamford Bridge in the latter’s first game without a permanent manager, following the sacking of Graham Potter on Sunday. We have the full details about the match here: https://www.otherleague.com/soccer/liverpools-0-0-chelsea-english-premier-league/
