Paris Saint Germain have officially signed Lionel Messi who has been without a club since July 1, 2021, after his contract with FC Barcelona expired on June 30, 2021. PSG signed Messi on August 10, 2021, after the Argentina international completed his medical on the said date.
When Messi’s contract with FC Barcelona expired earlier in the summer, PSG and Manchester City were the main contenders for the signature of the 6-time Ballon d’Or winner. However, speculations made the rounds that other clubs were interested in signing the football icon for free.
Among the clubs that reportedly showed interest in signing the Argentina international include Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United. However, until Messi sealed his move to PSG, no other club made a mention of the speculation except Manchester City.
Futballnews reported that the coach of Manchester City, Pep Guardiola regretted that he didn’t wait a little longer to see whether or not Barcelona would renew Messi’s contract before he went on to sign Jack Grealish for £100 million.
Recall that Guardiola coached Messi at Barcelona between 2008 and 2012 and they had the best of football time together. Under his reign at Barcelona, he led the Spanish club to win three La Liga titles, two Copa del Rey, and three Supercopa de España.
Also, Messi and Guardiola won two Champions League, two Super Coppa, and two FIFA Club World Cups, before the Spanish coach left the club in 2012.
Hence, for the fact that Guardiola was at Manchester City when Messi was unsettled at Barcelona, most football fans thought Manchester City would be Messi’s next destination but it was not to be.
Lionel Messi’s Transfer to PSG
From the point Lionel Messi was allowed to move to another club, it was clear that it would either be PSG or Manchester City because the two clubs look like the most financially buoyant club in Europe that can comfortably pay Messi’s wages.
Recall that Messi’s negotiation with FC Barcelona for a new deal collapsed completely on Thursday, August 5, 2021, because Barca’s wage bill was higher than the revenue of the club which is against the financial fair play at Spanish La Liga.
This happened even after Lionel Messi accepted to take a 50 percent pay cut at the Spanish club to enable him to stay at the club. According to Messi during his last press conference, he never knew that the 50 percent pay cut he accepted to take would not be enough to permit him to renew his contract with the Spanish club.
“I offered to reduce my salary by 50 percent and they didn’t ask me for anything else”, Messi said during the press conference with tears in his eyes.
“The news that I’d asked for 30 percent more is a lie. We did everything we could and it wasn’t possible.
“A lot of things people are saying aren’t true and as I said, I did everything [I could].”
Shortly after his emotional farewell, reports went viral that Argentina international has received PSG’s offer and his representatives were understudying the contract document.
It was not up to 24 hours after the report went viral that another report came out confirming that Messi had agreed with the content of the contract document.
Lionel Messi’s contract with PSG
Paris Saint Germain signed Lionel Messi for free and offered him a two-year deal that would keep him at the French club until June 30, 2023.
Based on details available to Futballnews, PSG have the option to extend the two years contract offered to Messi if both parties agree to it and the 34-year-old Argentine football icon is still competitive enough. If that happens, the contract would be extended to 2024.
In his new deal with PSG, Lionel Messi is expected to earn at least £25 million per year which means that the Argentine football icon will earn £50 million in two years including add-ons.
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) August 10, 2021
More about how Lionel Messi ended his journey at FC Barcelona before he got PSG Offer
Lionel Messi’s new salary at PSG is reportedly about 30 percent of what he used to earn at FC Barcelona. Reports claimed that Messi was on a €140 million per year salary at the Spanish side before his last contract with the club expired.
Recall that both Lionel Messi and FC Barcelona were interested in a new deal. They were getting closer to a new deal before La Liga confirmed to Barcelona that it would not be possible for the club to give Messi a new deal due to the financial complication of the club.
Hence, Barcelona had to officially end their 21 years relationship with the 6 times Ballon d’Or winner to the dismay of most fans of the club.
The end of his relationship with Barca pained Messi so much that he shed uncontrollable tears during his last press conference at FC Barcelona.
This is the word of Leo #Messi: pic.twitter.com/k0btQ7k1py
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) August 8, 2021
Before he left Barcelona, Lionel Messi scored 672 goals in 778 appearances. He helped the club to win 35 major titles between 2006 and 2021.
Messi left Spain with his wife, Antonela Roccuzzo to Paris, France for his medical at PSG.
…and here’s Leo Messi on the plane together with his wife Antonela, rumbo a Paris. Time to have medical and sign as new PSG player. ✈️🇫🇷 #Messi #PSG
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 10, 2021
Historical day. pic.twitter.com/cOrK1Aej1f
The new look and value of PSG’s first eleven under Lionel Messi’s era
From the 2021-2022 season, Lionel Messi would be seen playing alongside former Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos, his former teammate at FC Barcelona Neymar, Mauro Icardi, Angel di Maria, and Kylian Mbappe.
The potential first eleven of Paris Saint Germain is worth about €725 million including the new arrival, Lionel Messi and Hernández who is expected to join PSG from AC Milan this summer.
PSG’s potential first eleven include Neymar, worth €100 million in the transfer market, Mbappe, worth €160 million in the transfer market, and Messi worth €80 million.
Others are, Wijnaldum, worth €30 million, Verratti worth €55 million, Marquinhos, worth €75 Million, Hakimi, worth €60 million, Ramos, worth €10 million, Kimpembe, worth €40 million, Donnarumma, worth €65 million, and the incoming AC Milan fullback Hernández worth €50 million in the transfer market.
BREAKING: Lionel Messi has arrived in Paris and greeted fans after agreeing to join Paris Saint-Germain on a two-year contract following his departure from Barcelona.
— Sky News (@SkyNews) August 10, 2021
Read more: https://t.co/MvAMNVSswL pic.twitter.com/B3f8aTLRxL
Neymar was the first PSG player to tag Lionel Messi after signing with the French club
After PSG confirmed that they have signed Messi, the club’s talisman, Neymar took to his Instagram story to post a picture where he hugged Messi and wrote: “back together”.
Recall that Lionel Messi and Neymar played together at FC Barcelona between 2013 and 2017. While they were at the Spanish club, they both won two La Liga titles, three Copa del Rey, one Supercopa de España, one UEFA Champions League, and one FIFA Club World Cup.
Aside from football on the pitch, Neymar and Messi developed a very cordial relationship which waxed stronger even after the Brazilian exit Barca in 2017.
From this season onward, Neymar and Messi would unit again to win titles together. One of the most important titles that PSG would look forward to winning with this current crop of players is the prestigious UEFA Champions League which has eluded the club since the club was established.
What is Lionel Messi’s shirt number at PSG?
Lionel Messi is known to always wear shirt number 10 at FC Barcelona and in Argentina’s national team. But he would not be able to do that at PSG.
Reports claimed that Neymar offered to give Messi his jersey number 10 but the 34-year-old Argentine football icon refused to accept it.
Lionel Messi decided to go back to the first shirt number he used when he started his football career at FC Barcelona which is shirt number 30.
Hence, from this season onward, football lovers will try to get used to seeing Messi wearing a PSG jersey with shirt number 30 instead of an FC Barcelona jersey with shirt number 10.
The 34-year-old football icon would be coached by his countryman, Mauricio Pochettino at PSG.
