Following Lionel Messi’s exit from FC Barcelona Thursday over La Liga financial regulations, it looks like the Argentinian star has found a new landing spot at France’s Paris Saint-Germain a day later. PSG had long been viewed as one of the favorites to add Messi, but that’s now progressed to a firm contract offer, and one Messi appears receptive to. French reporter Mohamed Boufasi was the first to report that Friday:
🚨Lionel #Messi a choisi le #PSG ! Les dernières discussions portent sur un contrat de 2 ans + une autre saison en option. Le #PSG essaye de boucler le deal dans le week end. Le père de Messi doit rencontrer le #PSG dans les prochaines heures. Le vestiaire parisien est heureux.
— Mohamed Bouhafsi (@mohamedbouhafsi) August 6, 2021
Lionel #Messi has chosen to join #PSG – 2 years + 1 on option for the contract – the club is looking to wrap up the signing over the weekend, and is set to meet with Jorge Messi in the next few hours.
— Mohamed Bouhafsi (@mohamedbouhafsi) August 6, 2021
Some further confirmation came from Italian reporter Fabrizio Romano:
Paris Saint-Germain are close to sign Leo Messi, confirmed. PSG are preparing the official contract until June 2023 to be submitted to Messi and his father Jorge in the next hours 🚨🇦🇷 #Messi
Messi’s open to join PSG. Neymar was pushing in the last 24h. PSG are so, so confident. pic.twitter.com/WNRYJKCkjs
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 6, 2021
If this deal goes through as expected, the 34-year-old Messi joins a PSG team that’s made the UEFA Champions League semifinals in both of the past two years (and the finals in 2020), and one that already features many highly-paid stars (particularly including Neymar and Kylian Mbappé). PSG didn’t win Ligue 1 this past season, though, finishing second to Lille following three straight league titles. If Messi does sign there, it will be interesting to see how they balance all their stars (to say nothing of their chequebook).
