Saudis Arrive In Paris To Close Messi Deal, Camp Accepts €1.2bn offer

A Saudi delegation has arrived in Paris to try and close the signing of soon-to-be free agent Lionel Messi, according to Relevo.

This weekend has seen several developments occur in relation to the 35-year-old, who will be released from his Paris Saint-Germain contract on June 30.

On Saturday morning, SPORT reported how Al-Hilal sources revealed to them that the Saudi club hopes to announce Messi’s transfer on June 6 early next week.

Then, to ESPN, Messi confirmed he would leave PSG ahead of the club officially announcing his departure in a statement.

Messi played his last game for the Qatari-backed giants in the evening, and was booed by pockets of the Parc des Princes crowd for missing a chance from close distance in a shock 3-2 defeat to Clermont Foot.

Messi’s father and agent Jorge Messi previously revealed that a decision on his son’s future would be made when the Ligue 1 campaign concluded, as it did yesterday.

In the same correspondence, the Argentine patriarch denied reports from El Chiringuito and the AFP that Messi had accepted a monstrous offer from Al-Hilal.

With his 2022/2023 campaign bookended, though, Relevo reports that a Saudi delegation has traveled to Paris to close Messi’s signature on Sunday.

FC Barcelona remain Messi’s number once choice as per his next destination according to the Spanish outlet, but the Catalans are experiencing delays in La Liga approving their financial viability plan.

Meanwhile in France, Footmercato reports that the Messi clan has accepted a €1.2 billion ($1.3 billion) offer from Al-Hilal.

Figures that Messi is allegedly being offered range from €350-600 million a year.

If accurate and accepted, he would dethrone Cristiano Ronaldo at the top of Forbes’ list of the World’s Highest-Paid Athletes in its next edition.

In 2023, Ronaldo’s January move to Al-Hilal’s bitter rivals Al-Nassr from Manchester United helped him finish in first place and pip Messi with earnings of $136 million compared to the Qatar 2022 winner’s $130 million.

Wherever he ends up, Messi is expected to make a decision on his future in the next 48 hours according to Relevo journalist Toni Juanmarti.