Barcelona's departing Argentinian forward Lionel Messi arrives with his family at El Prat airport in Barcelona on August 10, 2021. - France is waiting impatiently for Lionel Messi with supporters gathering outside Paris Saint-Germain's ground hoping to see the Argentine who is expected to join the Qatar-owned club after his exit from Barcelona. (Photo by Josep LAGO / AFP)
Messi agrees to $41m a year contract with PSG
Superstar soccer player Lionel Messi has agreed a two-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain and is expected in France on Tuesday to complete his move from Barcelona.
The Argentine striker is said to have agreed a deal worth $41m a season for two years, with the option to extend the contract until June 2024.
For several days, Messi, along with his lawyers and his father Jorge (who is also the player’s agent), have been locked in discussions with the French club.
The 34-year-old is widely considered one of the greatest players of all time.
The soccer world has hotly anticipated confirmation of where he would play next after his departure from Barcelona.
Messi conceded that his time at the club he joined as a child was over, during at a tearful farewell news conference on Sunday.
Catalan club reluctantly releases superstar
Messi had been expected to stay at Barcelona – where he has been since the age of 13, but that plan collapsed due to the Spanish club’s financial situation.
The club’s net debt at the end of March 2021, when new management took over, was $792 million.
Messi agreed to a wage cut of 50 percent to stay at Barcelona but the club could not afford to keep him.
Transfer with trophy hunt in mind
The arrival of the Argentine legend means that Qatar-owned PSG is set to have one of the most fearsome frontlines in world football.
Messi will reunite with his former club mate Neymar, who is the world’s most expensive player and who preceded Messi in making the Barcelona-to-Paris switch.
PSG bought Neymar for $260million in 2017.
Kylian Mbappe is a World Cup winner with France and at just 22 years old is already the third-highest goalscorer in PSG’s history.
Messi won four Champions League titles during his time at Barcelona and PSG’s owners hope that bringing him to Paris could help the club finally land one of its own.
Marseille is the only French team ever to have lifted Europe’s top trophy and PSG lost the 2020 Champions League final to Germany’s Bayern Munich.
It’s also hoped Messi’s arrival will help PSG back to winning ways domestically after losing out on France’s Ligue 1 title to Lille last season.
If the striker completes his full medical and signing-on protocols, he could make his PSG debut at home to Strasbourg on Saturday.
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