2023-05-04 16:26:45
Lionel Messi’s sanction by Paris Saint-Germain marks the end of the Argentinian’s adventure with the club. Where will he bounce for next season at 36? Three serious tracks emerge between the heart club, the most sensible club and the hen with the golden eggs.
Lionel Messi is no longer welcome in Paris. This is the message that PSG sent in substance by sanctioning the seven-time Ballon d’Or for a promotional escapade in Saudi Arabia between two League matches. 1.
“La Pulga” is suspended for two weeks. During this disciplinary procedure, the Argentine world champion “cannot train, cannot play and is not paid”, according to a source familiar with the case. Several media claim that the suspension runs for two weeks, a duration that the club did not wish to confirm on Wednesday.
His contract in Paris expires in June 2023 and in view of the latest developments, no one imagines the club or the player lifting the optional year clause. However, Lionel Messi, who will celebrate his 36th birthday in June, is not done with football.
Feelings say Barça
Impossible to dissociate the career of Lionel Messi from FC Barcelona. Arrived in the Barça training center at the age of 13, Lionel Messi spent nearly 21 years there, including 17 in the professional team. He won all possible trophies. It was with tears in his eyes that he announced the end of his life at Barça to sign for PSG.
The Argentinian dreams of a return to Catalonia at 36 and the Camp Nou lets himself be carried away by this sweet hope : on several occasions, the Barcelona stadium has chanted the name of its idol in recent weeks. Moreover, according to several Argentine media, it was even in his house in Castelldefels, in the Barcelona suburbs, that he decided to serve his suspension. Before a more permanent return ?
According to the specialized press, the Ballon d’Or has been negotiating for a long time with his forever club for a return. But in reality, the operation is complex.
But the operation is complex for a Barça under budgetary pressure. According to the daily Mundo Deportivo, the club is still awaiting validation by the Spanish league (LaLiga) of its “viability plan”, in which includes extensions from Gavi, Ronald Araujo, Marcos Alonso, Sergi Roberto et… an eventual return of Messi. But to be able to register these players without going over the salary cap, Barca still need to reduce their spending by 200 million euros.
One of the first decisions of the Blaugrana club to move towards this objective was to announce the closure of its BarçaTV television channel on June 30. According to the club, the chain accuses 13 millions euros of losses per year, but according to the employees, many of whom will find themselves unemployed, these losses amount to only 6 millions d’euros.
Sufficient ? The sulphurous boss of LaLiga, Javier Tebas, expressed his doubts about the Argentine’s return to Barca on Friday 28 avrilon RMC Sports : “AT Today, Messi’s return to Barça seems complicated to me. Barça is not like PSG, which has a gas and ticket tap to offer such big salaries.”
Logic wants Inter Miami
As soon as Lionel Messi arrived at PSG, the scenario came back insistently : two or three years in the city of light then a pre-retirement in MLS, the North American championship which specializes in attracting aging stars like Kaka, Gonzalo Higuain or currently Douglas Costa.
Among the franchises of the championship, Inter Miami is the one who dreams the most of winning the services of the star. David Beckham, the club’s co-owner, has been singing the Argentine’s praises for months. The Englishman, who also made a remarkable visit to PSG where he played on the arrival of the Qataris, made a remarkable visit to the Camp des Loges. He had on this occasion posed with Lionel Messi.
The option has the advantage of bringing the family closer to Argentina, to Miami where the Messis already have a pied-à-terre. : a huge luxury apartment.
“I’m not going to deny that there is truth to the rumors of an interest in Lionel Messi,” Inter Miami coach Phil Neville admitted to The Times in late February. “For MLS, it would be a decisive contribution.”
Indeed, MLS, like PSG in its time, can take advantage of the undeniable notoriety of the sevenfold Ballon d’Or. Moreover, the commissioner of the League is not mistaken. Usually discreet and silent, Don Garber multiplies the interviews these last days on this what would the signing of the Argentinian represent and is ready to relax the strict budgetary rules to comply with the disproportionate demands of the star.
“He’s beyond the scope of his sport and could become more important than any other athlete who has played in this country,” he told CBS Sports on April 25. “We will work hard with Inter Miami (to convince the player). We have already proven that we know how to find intelligent ways to sign important players.”
Wallet screams Saudi Arabia
The country is at the heart of the sanction suffered by Lionel Messi. The Argentinian was in Riyadh to honor his contract with the Saudi tourist office and promote the country on social networks.
>> To read also: “Transforming Saudi Arabia into a dream tourist destination will take a long time”
But the Saudi Kingdom would like the partnership with the Ballon d’Or to extend far beyond that. The Saudi championship is courting the “Pulga” and thus hopes to recreate the mythical rivalry with “Cristiano Ronaldo”, Al-Nassr player since the winter transfer window.
L’Equipe claim that talks have already started with the player’s father and agent, Jorge Messi. And Al-Hilal, current 4e of the championship but the most successful club in the history of the country and finalist of the Asian Champions League, would have offered the staggering sum of 400 million euros per year to bring in the sevenfold Ballon d’Or.
Beyond the footballing thrill of reuniting the two aging stars, Saudi Arabia intends to capitalize on their arrival to support the Kingdom’s bid to host a World Cup. A joint candidacy with Egypt and Greece for the 2030 World Cup has been discussed for several months, but has not been formalized.
But will the Argentinian isolate himself in this second-class championship, whether it be Saudi Arabia or MLS, one year before the 2024 Copa America, which could be his last international event? ?
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