Always closer to his departure from Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season, Lionel Messi has an entourage in Saudi Arabia and the United States, even if FC Barcelona still dreams of bringing back his idol, a delicate financial transaction nonetheless.
. Heart pick: Barcelona
At the end of the contract in Paris Saint-Germain, who suspended him after an unauthorized trip to Saudi Arabia, the Golden Ball negotiated for a long time with his forever club, Barcelona, according to the specialized press.
The Argentine dreams of returning to Catalonia at the age of 36 – he will achieve it in June – and the Camp Nou is giving away that sweet hope: on several occasions, the Barcelona stadium has chanted the name of his idol in recent weeks.
But the process is complicated for Barcelona under pressure from the budget. According to Mundo Deportivo, the club is still awaiting validation by LaLiga of its “viability plan”, which includes extensions for Gavi, Ronald Araujo, Marcos Alonso and Sergi Roberto, as well as returns. Messi. But in order to sign these players without going over the salary cap, Barcelona still need to cut their spending by €200m.
One of the Blaugrana club’s first decisions to move towards this goal was to announce the closure of its television channel, BarçaTV, on 30 June. According to the club, the chain incurs losses of 13 million euros a year, but according to the staff, many of whom will find themselves out of work, those losses amount to only 6 million euros.
Adequate ? LaLiga coach Javier Tebas expressed his doubts about the Argentine’s return to Barcelona on Friday on RMC Sports: “As of today, Messi’s return to Barcelona seems complicated to me. Barcelona is not like PSG, who has a gas tap and tickets to offer.” These big salaries.”
. Portfolio selection: Saudi Arabia
Reuniting Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the Saudi tournament and making it an offer to promote a Saudi bid to host the World Cup in the coming years: the challenge is insane but seems commensurate with the Gulf country’s powerful financial establishment.
Already under contract with the Saudi Tourism Office to promote it on social networks – such was the subject of the Messi family’s unexpected trip to Riyadh – the Argentine superstar is being lured into the domestic league and re-creating the legendary rivalry with “CR7” player Al Nasr since the winter transfer window.
Several media outlets have reported in recent days that there is a wonderful offer from Al-Hilal club, at a value of 400 million euros annually, to bring the Golden Ball seven times.
In February, an official familiar with the matter told AFP, on the condition of anonymity, that Saudi Arabia is also seeking partnerships with Messi to support his candidacy to organize the World Cup. A joint candidacy with Egypt and Greece for the 2030 World Cup has been discussed for several months, but has not been formalized.
After the golden bridge offered to Ronaldo, there is no doubt that Saudi Arabia can meet Messi’s financial requirements and break new records. But will the Argentine seclude himself in this second division tournament one year before the 2024 Copa America, which could be his last international event?
. Choice of living environment: Miami
This hypothesis appears less frequently in transfer rumours, but it does exist: a new challenge for Messi at Inter Miami, Florida, in a North American league that always looks at South American stars late in their careers, such as Kaká, Gonzalo Higuain or currently Douglas Costa. .
The option has the advantage of bringing the family closer to Argentina, to Miami, where Messi already has a base.
Former Parisian David Beckham is also one of the owners of the Florida franchise, and the Englishman has appeared in recent days at the Camp des Loges, PSG’s training center, where he managed to pose with “La Pulga” for some photos.
“I’m not going to deny that rumors of interest in Lionel Messi are true,” Inter Miami coach Phil Neville admitted to The Times in late February. “For MLS, it will be a critical contribution.”
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