Messi’s next destination: Riyadh, Miami or Barcelona? – 03/06/2023 – The World Is a Ball

Messi, 35, completed his cycle in Paris.

This week, it became known that the seven-times best footballer in the world will not renew with Paris Saint-Germain the two-year contract that expires at the end of this month.

This had already been considered for some time, and then it was speculated, in case Messi really decided to leave the capital of France, the next destination of the Argentine star.

A widely publicized proposal he only had from Arab football. He came from Al-Hilal, Saudi Arabia. The club from Riyadh, the capital and largest city in the country, offered Messi a contract of US$ 438 million (almost R$ 2 billion) per year.

The value is astronomical. To move to the modern Saudi city, the nation’s financial center and owner of a futuristic architecture, Messi would receive more than ten times what he received (R$ 186 million annually) at PSG.

It’s money in abundance. However, as Messi has already earned a lot of money in his life, he would not (or should not) be the predominant factor in the athlete’s decision, whose career will last, in an optimistic scenario, another four or five years.

I don’t follow the Saudi Championship. But one of the doormen in the building where I live, a football (national and international) fanatic, accompanies me.

He started to do so after the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo (five times the best in the world), for a long time Messi’s rival in Spain (when he defended Real Madrid), went to play at Al-Nassr.

“Luís, the level there is very bad”, said to me more than once the Corinthian Petronio, always acting like it was a torment to watch the competition matches.

Cristiano Ronaldo is older than Messi, he is 38 years old. He could very well play another season or two in Arabia and then head to Portugal to end, if he wants, his career at Sporting, his first professional club.

Messi has more wood to burn than CR7. There is talk that he can (and wants to) return to Barcelona, ​​where he lived for more than 20 years (2000 to 2021), defending the main team in the city, which did not force him to stay there – he ended up moving to Paris .

The Barça coach, former midfielder Xavi Hernández, was Messi’s teammate in the team until 2015 and is excited about the possibility of his return, in a reconciliation between the striker and the club.

“He has all the confidence of the coaching staff. My endorsement is 100% for him to come”, declared Xavi to the Catalan newspaper “Mundo Deportivo”.

Messi should not have any obstacles from his wife, Antonella, who certainly would like to return to live in Spain with her husband and three children. The environment helps, the language helps. There are no apparent familial contraindications.

The problem, in the case of Barcelona, ​​is of an accounting nature.

Messi is an expensive player, and the club is struggling to comply with the FFP (financial fair play) rules set by UEFA, the governing body of football in Europe. In short, each club cannot spend more than it earns, and Barça is indebted.

In this scenario, the club’s management tries to rush to balance the accounts, getting rid of some players, to open up space to fit Messi.

Another team interested in the captain of Argentina, world champion in 2022, is Inter Miami, which has former English player David Beckham as one of its owners and today occupies the last position of its conference in the MLS (Major League Soccer).

According to recent news published by Sport (Spain) and other sports vehicles, the US team offered Messi a contract worth 50 million euros (R$ 266 million) annually, for a period of four years.

The North American football market does not have the financial power of that offered by the Middle East, but the quality of the games is superior, even if still far from the main leagues in Europe and South America.

If he opts for the USA, Messi, who lives in Miami, would become “the face” of football in the country, which is very interested in expanding attention to “soccer” on the eve of the 2026 World Cup, which it will organize in together with Canada and Mexico. Messi would be a tremendous poster child.

There is also the possibility, according to L’Équipe (France), of Messi, agreeing with Inter Miami, to be loaned for one season to Barcelona.

This situation would be to the liking of Messi, who would like to, in addition to living a period in Spain, play in a stronger league at least until the 2024 Copa America, which will be in June and July of next year, in the USA.

After that, he would move to the United States to enjoy the sun and glamor of Florida’s main city – in addition to being acclaimed game by game by an audience that loves a super idol.

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