Messi ‘likely’ to leave PSG as Al Hilal prepare €400m mega offer: Report
Argentina’s World Cup hero Lionel Messi could leave Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season with a massive offer from Saudi club Al Hilal on the table, according to reports.
Messi is “much more likely” to leave the Parisians at the end of the season than sign a new deal, AFP quoted an official at PSG as saying, The National reported.
“The dynamics have completely changed with PSG less pushing to renew (his contract),” the official said, adding that there was “no deal, no exit yet. But exit is much more likely”.
Messi, who will turn 36 in June, joined in 2021 on a two-year deal which expires at the end of this campaign.
Despite his international success and stature, Messi was on Sunday jeered by some PSG fans as the teams were announced prior to their 1-0 home defeat against Lyon.
Club supporters are unhappy with the team since they were eliminated from the Champions League in the last 16 by Bayern Munich last month.
Amid the disquiet, Saudi club Al Hilal have tabled a mega offer of €400 million per year, which would be much higher than Al Nassr made for Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano.
While Messi is keen to continue in Europe, ESPN stated that he is unlikely to remain in Paris.
Barcelona also remain on the periphery. The Spanish giants have been openly courting Messi, hoping to persuade the Argentine to return to the Camp Nou two years after he left the club where he won four Champions League titles. He left Barcelona when the club could not afford to renew his contract.
PSG have lost eight times in 18 games in 2023, a run which has seen them go out of the French Cup prematurely, but they remain six points clear at the top of the French table.
Messi has scored 29 goals and set up 32 more in 67 appearances for PSG in all competitions. Yet his form has dipped since he led Argentina to glory at the World Cup in Qatar at the end of last year.