Lionel Messi, who won the World Cup with Argentina in December, has scored 29 goals in 67 games for PSG. Football expert Guillem Balague says there’s still a possibility that Messi could go to another team next season. So far, he’s agreed to stay at Paris St-Germain (PSG) for one more year, but his goal is to play elite football until the 2024 Copa America tournament.
The owner of Paris’ football (soccer) team, Qatar Sports Investments, wants their 35-year-old player to stay for another year. He needs to be convinced because the head manager of the team (Luis Campos) has been asked to cut salaries so that they can fit within the rules of Financial Fair Play regulations. That could make it harder for them to compete at the highest levels in Europe.
Messi said he would stay for another year if both teams accept his plan. Balague said that PSG will still keep the same financial conditions, but they need to lower the wages so that their team won’t be as strong.
Right now, it’s uncertain if Christophe Galtier, the manager, will be replaced or not and who the potential replacement would be. In Qatar, there have been rumors that four to five team members might change for next season making things a bit unpredictable. Furthermore, clubs from all around the world are keeping a close eye on 2022 World Cup winner with an aim of getting them to sign up with them.
“The people from the club who own Qatar are very determined and want to invest more money. However, I am not worried about this,” said Balague.
PSG have been dominating the French League by having six points ahead of second place but they lost 3-0 in the last 16th round of Champions League against Bayern Munich last month.
Can Barcelona Afford Messi? Analyzing the Financial Situation as Xavi Pitches His Return
Messi is the top scorer for Barcelona with an amazing 672 goals out of 778 games. He left in 2021 due to financial reasons and was booed by some fans when Barcelona got beaten by Lyon at their own home this Sunday. A few days before that, it came out that Barcelona are considering bringing Messi back, but French media started writing stories about him which were not positive.
Lionel Messi’s dad, Jorge, had a chat with the president of Barcelona, Mr. Joan Laporta at a hotel in Barcelona. It was the first time they had seen each other since Lionel was told he could not stay on at the club anymore.
Guradian sport’s Guillem Balague said that their conversation wasn’t about Lionel’s future but rather it was about how Barca can honour him.
Leo and Laporta haven’t talked yet but Barcelona is actively trying to get them together. Manager Xavi often talks to Messi, trying to convince him that the team needs his skills.
Xavi tells Messi he will play in a midfield role near to what he does when playing for Argentina. Xavi comes up with different plans and every time Leo hears it, his face brightens up.
This person heard some people at the club who said that something great was going to happen. But really, nothing had happened yet and no offer had been made. It was just talk from Barcelona. I think this person wasn’t very happy about it because nothing was actually happening.
Two years ago, Messi agreed to take a cut in his salary to stay with Barcelona. But at the last minute, the team decided against it. They now believe that if Messi is part of the club, it will make money for future signings.
That decision ended an amazing time for Barcelona which brought them 4 Champions League trophies, 10 La Liga titles and 6 Ballon d’Or awards for Messi himself.
Since then, their finances have been difficult.
“Barcelona is in the same financial situation as when Messi left, how can they afford Messi if nobody has approached him about working it out with a financial package?” asks Balague. Barcelona still needs to save 200 million euros by reducing their salaries.
My gut feeling is that if Barcelona wait too long to make an offer to Lionel Messi, they won’t be able to pay him what he deserves. So if the only remaining option for him to stay in professional soccer is PSG, and he’s not sold on it because of their team record, then Barcelona could come back in a month with a lower offer.
Messi’s Money Madness
This week, Messi has been offered to sign for Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia’s Pro League, where Cristiano Ronaldo is already playing. People estimate this offer would be worth more than 400 million euros every year! Besides that, he also got an invitation from Inter Miami in Major League Soccer. His old Barcelona teammate, Sergio Busquets, might join the team too–and he’s waiting because he wants to play with Messi again!
According to Balague, Major League Soccer teams won’t be able to offer the same amount of money that PSG and Al-Hilal can. So, Inter’s hope is that Messi will decide somewhere slightly less competitive in order to prepare for the Copa America in 2024. However, no one knows yet if he has finally made his decision and PSG is still at the top as of now.
Barcelona haven’t given Messi any offer yet, the offer from Inter [Miami] is already very clear and has been like that for a long time. There’s also another offer of more than 400 million dollars which won’t be enough to keep Messi in the top-level, but it is an insane amount of money plus the chance to play again with Ronaldo. So, this is where things are right now.
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