After the reports of Lionel Messi's new club being Al Hilal emerged earlier on Tuesday, May 9, his father Jorge Messi released a statement which says that all news of his transfers is false and is 'only fake news using Leo’s name'.
“There is absolutely nothing agreed with any club for next year. The decision will not be made before Lionel finishes the league with PSG. Once the season is over, it will be time to analyse and see what’s out there and then make a decision.
"There are always rumours and many use Lionel’s name to gain notoriety, but the truth is only one and we can assure you that there is nothing agreed with anyone. Neither verbal nor signed nor agreed. And there won’t be until the end of the season," wrote Messi’s father on Instagram.
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.
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