Paris Saint-Germain star Lionel Messi will play in Saudi Arabia next season, a Saudi source close to the negotiations told AFP on Tuesday, calling the contract “huge”.
On the departure of the Argentine soccer player to the rich kingdom of the Gulf there is “a closed agreement, he will play in Saudi Arabia”said this source protected by anonymity.
“The contract is exceptional. It’s huge,” he added, without revealing the name of the club that would take over the services of the Argentine world champion. Asked this Tuesday by the AFP, the Parisian club limited itself to remembering that Messi has a contract in force until June 30.
“If the club had wanted to renew his contract, it would have been done before,” For his part, another source from the Parisian club indicated. According to this second source, the Argentine will fulfill his contract as planned and the club is not expected to make an official statement on the matter.
Already with a contract with the Saudi tourism office to carry out the promotion on their social networks, Messi could meet again in the local championship with the Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, who has played for Al-Nassr since the winter market. Several media outlets have evoked in recent days an exorbitant offer from the rival club Al-Hilal, valued at 400 million euros (around 440 million dollars) a year to convince Messi and recreate the mythical rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo.
“The negotiations did not take as long as with Ronaldo,” the Saudi source said, adding that as in the case of the Portuguese, the money comes from the Saudi sovereign wealth fund (PIF).
The contract in Saudi Arabia of the former Portuguese Real Madrid striker, estimated at 400 million euros until June 2025, made him the highest-paid athlete in the world in 2023, according to Forbes’ annual ranking.
AFP
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