Paris Saint-Germain formalized Tuesday evening the arrival of Argentine superstar Lionel Messi, who signed a contract for two seasons, with an additional year as an option.
The "Pulga" will wear the number 30 as revealed in a video of the club, the one he had in his professional debut with FC Barcelona, between 2004 and 2006, before the 19 and then the 10. On his arrival in the afternoon at Le Bourget airport, the striker, dressed in a "Here is Paris" t-shirt, greeted, all smiles, from a window, fans who cheered him.
At the same time, PSG posted on social media a short 13-second video full of references to the striker's career, such as his six Golden Balls and the Argentine flag.
Messi, 34, then underwent the traditional medical examination prior to signing his contract, before making a quick visit to the Parc des Princes in the early evening.
Red carpet rolled out
After this triumphant welcome, the Argentinian will be presented to the press on Wednesday at 11 a.m. (9 a.m. GMT), in the auditorium of the Parc des Princes, at the conclusion of a sequence that no one, neither he nor PSG, had yet imagined at the beginning of summer.
"It will hurt to see him in another jersey," his illustrious former teammate Andrés Iniesta told AFP from Japan.
As he was preparing to take off for Paris, at the beginning of the afternoon, the giant portrait of the “Pulga” was unhooked from the walls of Camp Nou, the stadium where he began to write his legend.
Meanwhile, Paris rolled out the red carpet for the Argentinian, at Le Bourget as well as at the Parc des Princes, where supporters began to arrive in the morning.
Committed until 2023
Lionel Messi is committed until 2023 at Paris SG, with an optional year (club), with a net annual salary of around 40 million euros, and a consequent signing bonus.
Such emoluments would place him at the level of Neymar (36 million euros), the highest paid footballer in the history of French football.
On Sunday, Messi dedicated his last weekend as a free player to Barça.
In tears, he had proclaimed his love for the blaugrana jersey.
Asked about the responsibility for this divorce, his father Jorge Messi curtly replied Tuesday: "See that with the club".
Barça announced on Thursday that they would give up extending their huge contract, which expired in June, which placed too high a risk on its bloodless finances.
The opportunity was too good for PSG, whose wealthy Qatari owner QSI is in perpetual pursuit of superstars to develop his brand.
The financial strength of QSI and the relaxation of UEFA's financial fair play rules did the rest.
Messi will find in Paris players he is close to, starting with Neymar, but also Angel Di Maria, with whom he has just won the Copa America with Argentina.
Their goal: to win the Champions League, the supreme goal set by QSI, which is waiting to lift this trophy that Messi has won four times already.
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