Lionel Messi’s contract situation has been a major talking point through the 2022/23 season, as his status at PSG will be up in the air come the summer.
Messi’s PSG contract was originally reported as a three-year contract, but in actuality it’s a two-year deal with an option for a third year. So while Messi can trigger a third year of his contract at PSG, it seems more likely that he’ll sign a new deal for 2023 and beyond, either at PSG or somewhere else.
Reports indicate that Messi is in talks to re-sign with PSG, but there are a number of other clubs in contention that could look to turn the Argentine star’s head with money or other opportunities elsewhere.
Will Messi re-up with the French giants and continue the hunt for Champions League glory? Or will he shock the football community and carve out a new chapter in his career?
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Messi reportedly in talks with PSG over contract extension
The most concrete reports over Lionel Messi’s immediate club future came right after the end of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, indicating that Messi could re-sign with PSG for the foreseeable future.
On December 21, Fabrizio Romano reported that Messi has a “verbal agreement” with PSG to work out a contract extension beyond the summer of 2023.
🚨🇦🇷 Paris Saint-Germain reached a verbal agreement with Lionel Messi to extend the contract. It’s a verbal pact to continue together. #PSG
No decision yet on leght of contract & salary, it will be decided in a new meeting soon.
Al Khelaifi and Campos, working on it. pic.twitter.com/upho1SCc7P
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 21, 2022
There was a period of quiet on this front for a few weeks, and then Gaston Edul of TyC Sports in Argentina reported that Messi has agreed to an extension through the summer of 2024. He doesn’t give any further details, but the report suggests that Messi has essentially reconstructed his current deal to leave him in Paris through summer 2024. His current deal has an option to do the same, but his World Cup win likely gave him additional leverage to get better terms.
This seems by far the most likely option, as Messi has an ideal situation in the French capital. The club plays in one of the least competitive leagues amongst Europe’s elite, and therefore does not have to push his body to capacity week-in and week-out. He can collect silverware while he still gets to gun for Champions League glory, which could make him a club legend as the hunt for PSG’s first-ever European crown continues.
MORE: Why Lionel Messi was named The Sporting News’ 2022 Athlete of the Year
Messi to return to Barcelona in 2023?
While the reports of a PSG extension have largely dashed the hopes of other clubs, Barcelona will still harbor dreams of an emotional return for Messi to Catalonia. Messi’s name has been in the minds of Blaugrana fans ever since the summer of 2022 when club president Joan Laporta said that Messi’s time with Barcelona was “not over.”
Barcelona have struggled through financial turmoil over the past few years, unable to sign players without complicated and intricate bookkeeping which has forced the La Liga giants to get creative in the transfer market. Yet they still lead the La Liga table and triumphed over rivals Real Madrid in the Supercopa de Espana.
While any possible reunion would require a number of chips to fall correctly, including the financial freedom and a break from PSG, it’s still on the minds of fans who want to see Messi return to where it all began.
According to Barcelona vice-president Eduard Romeu in mid-January, a reunion with Messi would be “financially possible” for the club should he depart PSG as a free agent, whether it be this coming summer or the summer of 2024.
MORE: Everything to know about Lionel Messi from trophies won to his family
Could Messi still join Inter Miami in MLS?
Should PSG fail to secure an extension for Lionel Messi, it’s possible that Major League Soccer club Inter Miami could reignite very clear interest between the two sides that simmered before the PSG extension began to gain legs.
According to a May 16, 2022 report by Alex Candal of Argentine outlet Futbol Total DirecTV, Lionel Messi has agreed to terms of a contract with MLS side Inter Miami that would see the Argentine join in the summer of 2023. The report stated that as part of the contract, Messi will also acquire a 35 percent stake in the club, which according to Front Office Sports is worth over $200 million.
That reported deal harkens back to the one David Beckham signed in January of 2007 that brought the English superstar to the LA Galaxy. Beckham’s contract gave him the option to secure ownership in an MLS expansion club for the cut-rate fee of $25 million, an option which he then exercised in February of 2014. That eventually led Beckham to owning Inter Miami, which began play in 2020.
But only a few hours after the initial report of a deal with Inter Miami, there were immediate denials and questions about the credibility of the report. Messi’s camp was quick to issue a strong denial, calling the report “fake news.”
“According to sources close to Messi, the player has not defined his future nor does he have a short-term plan other than staying at PSG,” read an article in Spain’s Sport. It went on to state that Messi will run down his PSG contract and only then determine his next step.
Still, there is clear interest between these two parties, as reports continued to trickle out about the link between them over the past 12 months.
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Messi offered huge contract by Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia
Reports out of Spain in mid-January suggested that a Saudi Arabian club was willing to pay exorbitant money to bring Lionel Messi to the Saudi Pro League just like Al Nassr did with Cristiano Ronaldo.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Saudi club Al Hilal, who won the league title last season, had offered Messi upwards of €300 million per year to come play next season. The report stated that Jorge Messi, Lionel’s father and agent, was making a trip to Saudi Arabia to discuss these terms with the club.
That was shot down, however, just a few days later by Spanish journalist Guillem Balague, who corroborated Fabrizio Romano’s report of a PSG extension while also stating there “hasn’t been an offer” from Al Hilal. It seems this option is highly unlikely.
