Not a week without the rumor gaining momentum. There is no smoke without fire. Lionel Messi has never been so close to joining Paris Saint-Germain. All lights are green.
Lionel Messi, at the end of his contract with FC Barcelona, will he join PSG free next season? The six-time Argentinian Ballon d’Or, 33, alone has the power to make this decision. As for the Parisian club, there is no doubt: the doors are wide open to him. Here are four strong clues that plead for this transfer.
- Leonardo’s words
Make no mistake, when the sports director of PSG does not deny it is because he is on the spot. Leonardo made a diplomatic response this weekend, claiming that “Lionel Messi is a player of FC Barcelona and out of respect we should not talk about it”. If there was no question of recruiting La Pulga, “Leo” would not have shied away from asserting it. Let us remember that at the end of the summer transfer window extended until October 5, Leonardo had confessed on the Canal Football Club set that the recruitment of Messi had “tickled” him. This time, the Brazilian will really take the matter in hand. The machine is probably already launched!
- Neymar’s attitude
There has been a lot of commentary on the Brazilian’s statements in the Argentinian press, saying his dearest wish was to play with Lionel Messi again. But more than words, it is Neymar’s attitude that could weigh heavily in this matter. In the summer of 2019, Carioca did everything to return to Barça. He now knows that the Catalan club has not made the necessary efforts to repatriate him. From now on, there is no longer any doubt in the mind of the “Ney”: to find Messi, it is necessary … that the latter join PSG. It is in this context that the Brazilian is currently negotiating the terms of his contract extension in Paris. The recruitment of Messi would be the guarantee to see Neymar accept a new lease.
- The Mbappé puzzle
Negotiations for the extension of Kylian Mbappé are less advanced than those underway with Neymar. The Frenchman has not given up on his dream of joining Real Madrid. Under contract until June 2022, the striker will be in a strong position next summer, one year from the deadline. His tactical interest thwarts the plans of PSG, who cannot afford to wait with folded arms for the decision of his French genius. Putting a strong option on Lionel Messi now is therefore also a way of anticipating a possible departure of Kylian Mbappé.
- Thank you the pandemic
The Covid-19 crisis does not strike with the same force historical clubs such as Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, which have not recruited this summer, and the “nouveau riche” of world football, including PSG and its Qatari funds are part of it. Better still, the crisis had the effect of suspending Financial Fair Play! A godsend for QSI. Remember that the problem of Qatar, gas emirate, is not the state of its finances … but the presentation of the club’s accounts to enter the boxes of the FPF. The main sponsors of PSG are the Accor group, of which Qatar is a major shareholder, the airline company Qatar Airways or even Ooredoo, a telecommunications company… Qatari. The global crisis has in no way affected the price of gas, which reached a high point in November. If there is one club in the world that can afford the giant salary of Lionel Messi (€ 80 million gross per season), it is PSG!
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