Paris Saint-Germain is giving serious consideration to completing a blockbuster free transfer deal that would bring FC Barcelona star Lionel Messi to the club, according to a report from ESPN.
Messi made clear of his desire to leave Barcelona over the recent summer transfer window. But ultimately, he stayed on with the club and it is currently unclear whether he still has an eye on leaving the Catalan club. Nonetheless, PSG may be looming on jump-starting negotiations to bring Messi to the club.
The report notes that Neymar and current PSG sporting director Leonardo have discussed the possibility of hauling in Messi to PSG. Neymar has already made recent public comments about wanting to reunite with Messi while Leonardo acknowledged the rumor linking the Argentine to PSG back in early September.
A report from Le Parisien on Thursday noted that Neymar pushed Leonardo to sign Messi over the recent summer transfer window. In the end, Leonardo did not consider such an option due to economic reasons.
Messi is slated to become a free agent in 2021, and he will be able to engage with any club for a pre-contract agreement next month. Thus, clubs will not have to post an astronomical fee to acquire Messi from the Catalan club but rather just come to terms on a yearly salary contract agreement with the forward.
It remains to be seen whether PSG would have any economic difficulties in signing Messi on a free transfer if the club ends up making a serious attempt to sign him. The ESPN report did make mention of the fact that Messi’s wage bill may become a financial dilemma for PSG as he currently earns €60 million a year with Barca, which makes him among the highest-paid athletes today.
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