Lionel Messi to leave PSG this summer

Lionel Messi will leave Paris Saint-Germain this summer when his contract expires, it has been reported.

The legendary forward joined PSG two years ago on a free after reluctantly leaving Barcelona due to their financial issues.

He signed a two-year contract with the French giants with an option for another year which both parties were initially keen on triggering.

However, the World Cup winner and the club no longer want the deal to go ahead, with the Argentine unconvinced that the Ligue 1 side can challenge for the Champions League.

BBC Sport report that Messi’s father and agent Jorge Messi informed PSG’s football advisor Luis Campos a few weeks ago of the decision.

Tensions in Paris had begun to boil over in the last few months, with the 35-year-old’s reluctance to sign a contract extension angering the club’s Qatari owners.

And things escalated recently when PSG reportedly suspended Messi for two weeks after taking an unsanctioned trip to Saudi Arabia.

It is an open secret that the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner dreams of returning to his boyhood club and though Barcelona are desperate to reunite with their greatest ever player, they too are have financial issues to resolve first.

There is also interest from Saudi Arabian clubs as well as David Beckham’s Inter Miami in the MLS.

Messi has scored 31 goals and 34 assists in 71 games for PSG, but even with Neymar and Kylian Mbappe alongside him, he has got the club no closer to winning the highly coveted Champions League, with his side crashing out in the round of 16 in the last two seasons.

Arguably the greatest to have ever played the game, the forward has won a total of four UCL titles and 11 league titles, as well as the 2022 World Cup and 2021 Copa America with his country.

More to follow…

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