Apparently, Lionel Messi’s romance with the French PSG is coming to an end. Negotiations on the extension of the contract, which ends this year, have been ongoing for several months, but the parties are still far from reaching a compromise. The star Argentine does not want to go on a salary cut and wants to have certain guarantees under the new agreement. In turn, the club is not sure that the 35-year-old attacker is worth the money they are asking for, given his age and long-term perspective.
In this year’s football prediction, Messi’s leaving is almost a no-lose bet. The footballer found himself at the center of the scandal, after which his future at PSG is hardly seen as possible. The reason for the management’s anger was Leo’s trip to Saudi Arabia, which happened immediately after the team lost to “Loryan” on April 30. The Argentinian made a visit as part of an advertising contract, but this was not an excuse. As a result — suspension from training and matches for 2 weeks with deduction of salary for this period.
The reaction of the club unequivocally shows that in Paris they are not going to get Messi’s favor at any price. Otherwise, they would try to hide the incident without applying such drastic penalties. Lionel himself also probably realized the consequences of his actions, which means that he hardly plans to stay in France.
Options for Leo Messi for the 2023/24 season
Messi’s future at PSG has not yet been decided, but experts have already started discussing options for Leo’s career extension. The main contenders for the famous forward of the Argentine national team are:
- “Barcelona”. This option is the priority for the striker, as his family really wants to return to Catalonia. The question is whether the club will be able to offer sufficient financial conditions without breaking the La Liga regulations. To do this, they will have to sell several leading players at once in the summer, which seems unlikely.
- “Al-Khilal”. Messi’s recent trip to Saudi Arabia speaks in favor of this decision. The club is ready to offer Lionel the biggest salary in the world, and his confrontation with Cristiano Ronaldo should become a real decoration of local football tournaments.
- “Inter Miami”. Continuing the career in MLS is a very promising option as well in financial terms. In addition, the club belongs to David Beckham and is based in Florida, where the Messi family already has a home.
There is also an option for Leo to return to the homeland. But “Newell’s Old Boys”, in which the striker took his first career steps, is unlikely to meet the player’s financial expectations, so football predictions fans do not consider this scenario to be realistic in the next few years. Moreover, not so long ago there was an incident in Rosario, after which the Messi family is unlikely to feel comfortable in the city. At the beginning of spring, unknown people shot into a supermarket belonging to the relatives of Lionel’s wife, leaving a note with threats addressed to the athlete.