The marriage between Lionel Messi and Paris Saint-Germain may not last more than a couple of seasons.
ESPN’s Julien Laurens and Sky Sports News have both reported that Messi is unlikely to extend his stay with Paris Saint-Germain beyond the expiration of his two-year contract which he initially signed in the summer of 2021.
Specifically, Laurens said that PSG wants Messi “to take a 25% pay cut from his existing salary, which is worth €40M gross a year.” Sky Sports added that Messi leaving PSG “would fit in with the club’s new strategy of focusing on young French players instead of signing superstar talents.”
It was said ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup that Messi and PSG could continue their relationship for at least another campaign. As Kyle Bonn of Sporting News pointed out, though, that was before Messi and company once again failed to guide the Parisians past the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League competition.
On Monday, ESPN’s Adriana Garcia noted that some PSG fans have whistled and booed toward Messi on multiple occasions since the club was eliminated from this season’s Champions League tournament by Bayern Munich last month. Laurens explained that the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner “was upset” after hearing such jeers and “is leaving all doors open for other teams to make him an offer.”
Messi left Barcelona as a free agent two summers ago “because of financial and structural obstacles (Spanish Liga regulations)” which prevented the Catalan club from holding onto him at that time. Both Laurens and Sky Sports indicated Barcelona may not be able to afford the 35-year-old later this year unless he is willing to offer his former footballing home a significant discount.
Messi has repeatedly been linked with Major League Soccer and Inter Miami for years. While Laurens said that “Messi is open to playing in the U.S. before his career comes to an end,” Sky Sports claims that “he is much more likely to stay in Europe than move to Inter Miami – or any other MLS club – or Saudi Arabia at this stage of his career.”
