ARGENTINE star Lionel Messi will reportedly be leaving French Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint Germain (PSG) at the end of the current campaign, once his contract expires in the summer.
The 35-year-old was on Tuesday handed a two-week suspension by the capitol outfit, after embarking on a commercial trip to Saudi Arabia without permission, with journalist Fabrizio Romano revealing that Messi’s father Jorge had informed Les Parisiens of the decision a month ago.
According to Fabrizio Romano, he stated: “There are ‘no doubts’ that Messi will depart the Ligue 1 side at the end of the season. It is understood that his father told PSG that a decision had been made last month ‘due to the project’. This was the final breaking point.”
This is thought to have strained Messi’s relationship with the Ligue 1 side, but Romano has now reported that his decision to leave was made last month.
The World Cup winner was absent from training at Paris Saint-Germain on Monday, as the players were called in by boss Christophe Galtier following their 3-1 loss to Lorient.
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner had put pen to paper on a £25m-a-year deal with Saudi Arabia last year to become the country’s tourism ambassador.
It is unclear as to what the next move might be for Messi, who has been linked with a return to Spanish La Liga side FC Barcelona, though the move seems unlikely due to the Catalans’ struggles to comply with Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.
Also, Major League Soccer outfit Inter Miami owned by the legendary England midfielder David Beckham, have been linked with a move for Messi, as well as Saudi side Al Hilal who are rumoured to have tabled an offer of around 400m per season to sign the Argentine.
Eighteen-Eleven Media