According to reports, PSG’s Qatari high command have sent a ‘clear message’ to the club administration regarding extending Lionel Messi’s contract beyond this summer. Although Messi’s contract with PSG expires at the end of the current season, his future remains uncertain. Despite the French giants’ desire to retain the Argentine beyond this season, there hasn’t been any actual discussion of a contract extension between the two parties.
Moreover, speculations over the 35-year-old’s future in French capital escalated after Lionel Messi’s father, Jorge, slammed fake stories last week which claimed ‘PSG are not open to accept Messi’s conditions to sign new deal’. Amidst rumours and reports, neither of the two parties have publicly stated anything over Leo’s next move, with several options like joining MLS or following in Cristiano Ronaldo’s footsteps to middle-east touted as possible options.
PSG owners make decision over Lionel Messi new deal
According to a Mundo Deportivo story, Qatar Sports Investments has informed PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi and the club’s football advisor Luis Campos that retaining Lionel Messi’s services beyond the summer is their top priority. The report from the Spanish outlet further adds, Messi was highly regarded by the club’s owners prior to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and they now think that his value has only increased as a result of his outstanding role in Argentina’s triumph.
However, there are lose talks a well that ‘some at the club are considering a change in direction’ in the playing team, while others think the supporters’ preferred course of action might also be to let Messi leave. As the teams were announced prior to PSG’s game against Rennes, the Argentine was jeered by several club fans. Immediately following the game, Messi stormed down the tunnel whereas his teammates applauded the home crowd.
After reaching a verbal agreement with PSG in December over a contract extension, Messi wants to know how the PSG project would proceed before making a choice. PSG suffered another heartbreaking Champions League round of 16, this time at the hands of Bayern Munich. Since he signed for the club on a free transfer from Barcelona in 2021, Messi and PSG are yet to go past the last-16 in the elite European competition.
Furthermore, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner shares a distorted relationship with the club’s fans, who have often pinned the blame on him for their downfalls. The reports of Leo demanding the same pay cheque as other players, especially Kylian Mbappe who is the club’s highest-paid, have further enraged the supporters. However, those reports have been hit out at by Jorge Messi, Lionel Messi’s father and agent.
Meanwhile, in the event that Lionel Messi decides against extending his time in Paris, he has been widely speculated to have three options: a move back to Barcelona, a transfer to Inter Miami of Major League Soccer, or a move to Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia. However, according to those within his inner circle, Messi is not yet ready to set out on a MLS or the middle-east expedition. He till wants to compete at the highest level, and hence prefers to remain in Europe for at least another couple of years.