It was expected and it is now official: after two seasons in Paris, PSG and Lionel
Messi will go their separate ways at the end of the match they are playing this Saturday at the Parc des Princes against Clermont, in which he was whistled again by the Parisian fans. Meanwhile, there are new clues that his future is in Saudi Arabia, specifically, in Al-Hilal.
With the departure of the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, who will turn 36 at the end of June, a chapter of Messi’s two years in Paris will close, with few flashes of brilliance and, above all, marked by the two fiascos in the Champions League.
Saudi media assure that Al Hilal is going head on for Messi. It would have increased the financial offer, in addition to giving him more years of contract and the possibility that he stays in the club holding managerial positions for when he leaves football.
In addition, emissaries from the club have already traveled to Paris to finalize the contract and the signing of the contract, according to the same source, could take place in the next 48 hours.
FC Barcelona is working on the return of Messi, but regulatory issues have prevented making an offer. There would also be an interest from Inter Miami to take him to the MLS.
The soap opera about Messi’s future has been going on for several months, with several changes of situation. If initially, at the end of last year, just before the World Cup, everything seemed headed for a renewal by PSG, both parties drifted apart as the season progressed.
The Argentine’s promotional trip to Arabia at the beginning of May, not authorized by the club, sealed the divorce, even leading the entity to suspend the player from employment and salary for a few days.
This is how Messi’s relationship with PSG ended
The divorce already seemed inevitable when, given the lack of results in Europe and a dwindling performance, the Paris SG fans even whistled for the Argentine, as happened again this Saturday, in his 75th game with the PSG shirt, in the one that came out of the headline.
After announcing the farewell to Sergio Ramos on Friday, also a starter against Clermont, and awaiting the possible departure, according to the French press, of coach Christophe Galtier, PSG made Messi’s departure official through a statement headed with the phrase “Thank you, Leo!”.
“The club extends its warmest thanks to the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, who also lifted a Trophée des Champions and two Ligue 1 titles with the club,” PSG said in its farewell statement.
“Thanks to the club, the city of Paris and its people for these two years, I wish them the best in the future,” said the Argentine, quoted in the text.
Arriving like a hero in Paris in the summer of 2021 from Barcelona, Messi will have played 75 games for the French club, scoring 32 goals and giving 35 assists… but he will leave without having been able to give the Parisian club its great goal: the Champions League.
“Paris Saint-Germain is proud to have had the best footballer of all time among its ranks and wishes Leo many more successes in the rest of his career,” the club insisted in its statement.
“His contribution to Paris Saint-Germain and Ligue 1 cannot be underestimated and we wish Leo and his family all the best for the future,” said PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi in the entity’s statement.
Lionel Messi: numbers down after winning the World Cup
Curiously, the world title in Doha, the greatest achievement of Messi’s career, marked the beginning of the end for the Argentine in Paris, since although the ‘Flea’ had a great season until the World Cup break, after Qatar his performance decreased .
According to the statistics, after the World Cup Messi finished less, shot less between the sticks and touched fewer balls, especially inside the box. Before Qatar, Messi scored 12 goals and provided 14 assists in 19 games. Later, he only scored 9 goals and gave 6 goal assists in 21 games.
Beyond the numbers, the second part of the season resulted in two painful eliminations: in the Champions League round of 16 against Bayern Munich and in the French Cup against their great rival, Olympique de Marseille. And a record of defeats: nine in 28 games played counting all competitions.
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with AFP
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