It's Barcelona vs Al-Hilal vs Inter Miami for Lionel Messi: Race heats up to sign Argentine after PSG exit
Legendary forward Lionel Messi's club future after his career at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) came to an end this week continues to hit the headlines, with all eyes on Barcelona, Al-Hilal and Inter Miami to see which club secures his signature.
FollowThis week, legendary forward Lionel Messi brought his Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) career to an end, as the French giants celebrated their Ligue 1 championship, despite losing to Clermont Foot 3-2. With his 2-year stint at Parc des Princes over, all eyes now have shifted to the Argentine's club future with Barcelona and Al-Hilal emerging as the top two destinations. Although MLS side Inter Miami are interested in signing the 36-year-old icon as well, the battle seems to be growing between Messi's former club and the Saudi Pro League giants.
According to latest reports, Inter Miami are believed to have made an offer, while Al-Hilal have presented Messi with a mammoth 1.2 billion euro offer. The Saudi Arabian club is also said to have sent delegation to Paris to secure the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner's signature. A move to the Gulf nation will see Argentina's 2022 World Cup-winning captain pitted against arch-rival and Al-Nassr star Cristiano Ronaldo, setting the Saudi Pro League on fire.
However, a recent report in Spain claimed, "Lionel Messi will sign for Barcelona until 2025. He will receive 13 million euros annually as a net salary in the first year. The possibility of his transfer to Al-Hilal club or Inter Miami will be in the summer of 2025, not now."
Messi's future is 99 per cent up to him, said Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez last week, and club president Joan Laporta has previously stated that they will do all in their power to get him back to the team that took a chance on him when he was just 13 years old.
Laporta, though, now seems more pessimistic about the prospects of a solution, and the mood in Catalonia has altered. To make a bid for Messi, the Blaugrana must still wait for La Liga to approve their viability plan.
“We will see,” Laporta told Sport, as he enjoyed the celebrations of Barcelona Femeni’s second Champions League title. “It’s difficult. If you do everything you can, there’s no obligation to do more.”
There is little doubt that the likelihood of a fairytale come true is waning. Messi can make more money elsewhere, so Barcelona could never count on him to pay them back. They must hope that the allure of his former life, a proper farewell, and one or two more seasons of playing in Europe will keep him from making a decision for a while.
Time will tell if Barcelona can bring their former club legend for 'one last dance', or if Messi will make a sensational move to Al-Hilal or Inter Miami.
