Amid the multiple rumours about the future of Lionel Messi at his current club Paris Saint Germain (PSG), the latest word in the media is that the mega superstar from Argentina, who won the FIFA World Cup in 2022, will now sign for the Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal.
The biggest factor in this news is that Messi's biggest rival, the Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, is the skipper of Al Hilal's biggest rivals Al Nassr, both of who are bigwigs in the Saudi Pro League.
And the biggest factor that will affect this deal is the price tag attached to it. Al Hilal are willing to pay almost double for the superstar footballer. The reported price tag is around £400 million ($505m), which, in Indian rupees, amounts to a massive Rs 4100 Crore deal.
According to AFP, a source close to the negotiations revealed on Tuesday, “Messi is a done deal. He will play in Saudi Arabia next season. The contract is exceptional. It’s huge. We are just finalising some small details."
When questioned about the comments, Messi’s current club PSG simply noted he remains under contract until June 30. A separate PSG source said, “If the club had wanted to renew his contract, it would have been done earlier."
Recently, Messi's club handed him a two-week club suspension with immediate effect for an unapproved trip to Saudi Arabia with family mid-season. Messi made a trip to Saudi Arabia after PSG lost to Lorient by 3-1 in their French Ligue 1 clash. According to reports the trip was not approved by manager Christophe Galtier.
However, he then made an apology as he returned to training with Paris St Germain following his suspension over an unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia.
The Ligue 1 club confirmed on their official Twitter account on Monday morning that the 35-year-old Argentina international was back among the fold after he was fined and suspended for undertaking a promotional visit to the Middle East country without permission.
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