Lionel Messi has discarded a potential return to FC Barcelona and has accepted an offer to join Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia this summer with the Catalans’ captain Sergio Busquets after initially requesting €600 million ($660 million) a year according to El Chiringuito.
The popular Spanish football programme dropped the “world exclusive” around midday on Monday in mainland Europe through Mundo Deportivo collaborator Marcal Lorente.
Both Messi and Busquets become free agents on June 30. While Messi’s camp has informed Paris Saint Germain that he will not continue in the French capital according to Fabrizio Romano, Barca have been labouring to put together a return package for the Argentine and also get their skipper Busquets to extend.
If El Chiringuito‘s information is accurate, however, Al-Hilal will snatch both men away and also another Barca club legend in Jordi Alba.
Lorente reports that Busquets will tell first-team coach Xavi Hernandez his decision on Tuesday while Alba will rescind his current deal which expires in mid-2024.
Lorente, who was close to the board of former Barca president Josep Bartomeu, isn’t the only figure to claim that Messi will turn down the chance to don Blaugrana again in order to take big money in the Middle East.
While Onda Cero reported that Messi would head to Saudi Arabia after spending a year at Barca, FIFA-registered agent Marco Kirdermir, who is close to both PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi and the King of Saudi Arabia, explained on Radio Marca that Messi would swerve Camp Nou and only grace Europe’s biggest stadium “when he retires”.
“He has an offer of $600 million dollars from Al-Hilal, the King’s team,” Kirdemir said.
Last month, the Saudi Gazette and Romano reported that Messi had a €400 million ($440 million) offer on the table from Al-Hilal which would dwarf generational rival Cristiano Ronaldo’s reported €200 million ($220 million) yearly pay at their arch enemies Al-Nassr.
Also last week, Ronaldo topped Forbes‘ list of the World’s Best-Paid Athletes 2023 with earnings of $136 million thanks to his Saudi switch as Messi finished in second through $130 million which was evenly split on-field and off-field.
According to El Chiringuito, who revealed their information on Twitter and through a live stream on Twitch, Messi’s camp led by father and agent Jorge Messi agreed to move to Al-Hilal “on one condition”: that the seven-time Ballon d’Or earns significantly more than Ronaldo.
The Messis allegedly requested an alarming €600 million ($660 million) a year, but settled on €350 million ($386.5 million) which has been accepted by the Qatar 2022 World Cup winner.
If true, the news will come as a hammer blow to Culers and FC Barcelona, who are currently trying to convince La Liga that they can make the Messi deal happen amid problems juggling Financial Fair Play limits.
Xavi’s planning for the 2023/2024 will also be affected, as he won’t be able to call on not just Messi but also his captain Busquets who he has publicly praised and tried to encourage to stay another year in Catalonia.
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