Lionel Messi agrees contract with French champions PSG, could debut this weekend: Reports
According to journalist Fabrizio Romano, Lionel Messi has made his move to PSG on a two-year deal with the option to extend by another for €35m a season.
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Lionel Messi to Ligue 1 outfit Paris Saint-Germain has been confirmed as per reports by Fabrizio Romano as he gave it the 'here we go!'. One of the biggest transfers in footballing history seems all but done as Messi will reportedly be making €35 million per season, including bonuses. Messi will sign a two-year contract with PSG and an option to extend until June 2024. He is likely to be in Paris within the next few hours to undergo his medical and make this transfer official.
Lionel Messi joins PSG... HERE WE GO! Total agreement completed on a two-years contract. Option to extend until June 2024. Salary around €35m net per season add ons included. 🇦🇷🇫🇷 #Messi
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 10, 2021
Messi has definitely accepted PSG contract proposal and will be in Paris in the next hours. pic.twitter.com/DiM5jNzxTA
Messi will be reuniting with his former Barcelona teammate Neymar who made the shift back in 2017. He will also be partnering up with fellow Argentinian teammates Angel Di Maria, Leandro Paredes, and Mauro Icardi. This move comes after he bid farewell to his boyhood club Barcelona, who could not offer him a contract extension. Messi had been without a contract since June 30 of this year, and initial reports had suggested that he will resign for Barca; however, that was later called off as they announced that Messi would be leaving the club after 21 years there.
Messi chooses PSG
Lionel Messi will leave Barcelona after 21 years because the La Liga giants were reportedly unable to fulfill the terms of the signed contract due to "financial and structural obstacles." It is believed that Messi's contract cannot be registered since the Catalan club is in financial crisis with a reported debt of more than a billion dollars. Barcelona president Joan Laporta explained why Messi's contract could not be signed.
While speaking at a press conference, Laporta said, "The salary mass is 110% of the club's total income; we don't have any margin in terms of salary. Financial Fair Play regulates the Spanish La Liga's rules and regulations, and we don't have any margin. We knew that (of the situation) when we got to the club, but the numbers presented to us are a lot worse than those exposed initially and those we were working with. That means that the losses are more than we had expected. What we are spending is a lot more than we expected, and the current contracts mean that we have this salary mass of great magnitude."