Lionel Messi has reportedly given the green light to Al-Hilal’s lucrative $439 million deal. Over the past few months, Messi‘s contract situation has been up in the air. Following his falling out with PSG, it has been reported that Messi will leave the French club this summer. In addition to this, there’s a proposition from FC Barcelona, which has its complications due to the club’s financial fair play regulations.
According to reports from L’Equipe, there is optimism from Lionel Messi’s camp regarding a move to Saudi Arabia. The PSG star has already received a mammoth $439 million deal from Al-Hilal, a Saudi Arabian club. If the deal goes through, Saudi Arabian fans would see Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the Middle-Eastern country.
Leo Messi’s transfer to Saudi Arabia is a ‘done deal,’ according to @afpfr 🇸🇦 pic.twitter.com/TwUsWYiq4L
— B/R Football (@brfootball) May 9, 2023
If the reports are true, it means Messi is not in favor of returning to FC Barcelona. There have been repeated rumors of Messi wanting to return to his boyhood club. Although the club needs to earn around $200 million from their player sales, the club is optimistic about signing Messi. Moreover, La Liga chief Javier Tebas also recently outlined the difficulties that Barcelona would face in signing the PSG star.
(🌕) Al-Hilal wants to sign Di Maria and Paredes along with other players in order to convince Messi. @lequipe 🇦🇷🇸🇦 pic.twitter.com/tN2ixULyYR
— All About Argentina 🛎🇦🇷 (@AlbicelesteTalk) May 8, 2023
The sources further stated that Al-Hilal is prepared to sign Messi’s former Barcelona teammates Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets in their attempt to appease Messi. Alongside Busquets and Alba, Al-Hilal is also targeting Messi’s current PSG teammate Marco Veratti and Messi’s compatriots Leandro Parades and Angel Di Maria. If Lionel Messi accepts Al-Hilal’s offer, he would become the world’s highest-paid athlete.
Lionel Messi returns to PSG training
PSG seems to have made a U-turn in their decision regarding Lionel Messi. The club recently suspended the former Barcelona star over his unauthorized trip to Saudi Arabia. Messi was reportedly suspended for two weeks as he missed the recent Ligue 1 clash against Troyes. However, recent pictures show that the World Cup 2022 hero was back in training earlier today.
Following PSG’s decision to suspend Messi, the Argentine star issued an apology video where he explained his side of the events. However, despite the club resuming his training, Messi’s decision to leave the club seems to have been set in stone. Although Lionel Messi has reportedly accepted Al-Hilal’s offer, there are still offers from FC Barcelona and clubs from the MLS on the table.
