Soccer star Lionel Messi’s summer departure from Paris Saint-Germain to Saudi Arabia is a done deal, according to an AFP source.
The media has been speculating for a long time that the 35-year-old Argentine striker is attracted by the al-Hilal club, which offers him a contract for 400 million dollars (8.5 billion crowns) per year.
“The deal with Messi is done. He will play in Saudi Arabia. It is a huge, exceptional contract. We are still finalizing some details,” AFP quoted a source close to the negotiations as saying.
No party has yet officially commented on Messi’s future. The captain of Argentina’s world champions has a contract at Paris Saint-Germain until June 30.
One of the best footballers in history has been playing in the French capital since 2021, when he left Barcelona, where he spent his entire career to date.
At the beginning of last week, Messi visited Saudi Arabia, where he is the tourism ambassador.
The management of PSG removed him from the squad for two weeks for the unauthorized trip, after a public apology they cut his sentence by about half.
On Monday, the star forward already trained with the team and in the evening received the Laureus award for the best athlete of the past year.
In Saudi Arabia, Messi could once again meet his longtime rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who headed to al-Nasr at the end of last year.
The Portuguese striker has signed a three-year contract worth 220 million dollars a year with the club.
