Paris Saint-Germain has become the first and most likely candidate to win the services of Argentine star Lionel Messi, who Barcelona announced his departure from the team that a 13-year-old reached.
From the moment "Barca" issued the "departure" statement, Jorge Messi, Leo's father and agent, contacted the Parisian team.
Jorge asked Saint-Germain if the latter was in a position to sign his son.
But Saint-Germain is not the only team that has been contacted, Chelsea are also interested in signing him, as is Manchester City.
The fact that the contact with Saint-Germain has already taken place and discussions have taken place, but their response to Messi’s father, does not mean that everything is fine and that the deal will go forward, as the French team confirmed that it is trying to find a way to allow him to sign the Argentine star, while also retaining the Frenchman, Kylian Mbappe. .
They know that the only way to sign him is to get the same amount for using his image, and Marca has learned that they think they need to get 100% - or so - of his image rights.
And “Marca” reported, yesterday, Thursday, that Paris Saint-Germain faces debts of 200 million euros this season, and needs to sell players, but the club’s president, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, wants to keep Mbappe in addition to contracting with Messi.
Al-Khelaifi knows that the players must leave, and so far only Dutchman Mitchell Packer has moved to Bayer Leverkusen for only 7 million euros.
Saint-Germain's current plan is to offer more players for sale, and it is believed that he will be able to make money from selling his players, but no player is willing to leave.
Messi's possible arrival in the French capital may affect Argentine Angel Di Maria, who has just renewed his contract at the Parc des Princes.
And the fastest solution for the club is to put Mbappe on the market.
For his part, Barcelona club president, Joan Laporta, refused to talk about Messi's next destination, after he was asked today, Friday, about his knowledge of Paris Saint-Germain's interest in his inclusion.
"This is up to him, you have to ask him, I will not answer that question," Laporta said, adding, "I don't know anything about this, but it was always said that they (Paris Saint-Germain) have several options."
Laporta explained his position on Messi's departure, which was a great shock, at a press conference, where he stressed that keeping the 6-time Ballon d'Or winner would have put the club at risk in the next 50 years.
And the Catalan club president revealed that Messi had made an offer for 5 years, in an attempt to stay within the spending limits.
"We were negotiating for two months, the agreement was ready to be signed for two years and his salary was paid for five years, then we moved to the stage of agreeing to a five-year contract, which Liu accepted," he added.
He explained, "The club has a history that exceeds 100 years and is higher and more important than any player, even if he is the best in history, and we will be forever grateful to him."