While Lionel Messi and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) have already reportedly reached a verbal agreement about potentially increasing his stay in the French capital, anything about the Argentine's move is yet to be made official.
The length of Messi's contract is yet to be decided. There are two options percolating; one is to activate a one-year extension, another is to hand him a new contract with the option to extend it for another year.
Messi's salary is yet another matter of discussion. The Argentine doesn't want to be paid much less than Kylian Mbappe. However, the Parisian club are not willing to give in to the player's demands.
Lionel Messi joined the French club in January 2021 after Barcelona were unable to renew his contract due to La Liga's wage cap rules. Messi has since made 64 appearances for PSG, scoring 29 goals and providing 32 assists.
Joan Laporta recently spoke about PSG superstar Lionel Messi's potential return to Barcelona
Barcelona president Joan Laporta recently spoke about Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) superstar Lionel Messi potentially making a return to Barcelona.
Laporta recently said:
“I met Jorge Messi, we talked about the World Cup and a tribute match for Leo. I’m happy for him. He’s at PSG right now, so I don’t want to speak about whether or not he could return.”
He added:
"I would make the same decision regarding Leo Messi again. The club is above anything else and it was complicated, but I had to decide due to FFP. I’m not gonna talk of his future, matter of respect. I saw Leo in Paris and also congratulated him.”
Messi had an illustrious career with the Catalan club, scoring 672 goals for them. He is widely regarded as the Blaugrana's greatest-ever player.
Messi, however, left the Catalan club in an anti-climactic manner. Given his immense contribution to the club's history, many believe that the Argentine deserved a better send-off.
However, a permanent return to the club remains unlikely for the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner.