Europe 1 with AFP 18:34 pm, April 04, 2023

According to a source close to the club, the departure of Lionel Messi from Paris Saint-Germain at the end of his contract in June is now "much more likely, but not certain". "No agreement has been signed, the dynamic has completely changed with PSG pushing less to renew," the source said.

The departure of Lionel Messi from Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season is now "much more likely, but not certain", we learned Tuesday from a source close to the club, suggesting a change of course of the club. "The dynamic has completely changed with PSG pushing less to renew, the attitude of the fans has completely changed the game," the source said.

A possible sporting failure for the "MNM"

Whistles against the Argentine came down from the stands on Sunday during the match lost against Lyon (1-0), where he only on rare occasions showed his genius and sometimes played while walking. The prestigious "MNM" Messi-Neymar-Kylian Mbappé could end on a sporting failure: with its magic trio, PSG has won only one France Championship. He is well placed to win it again this season but remains on two defeats in a row at home, against Rennes (2-0) and Lyon.

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Paris were eliminated twice in a row in the 8th final of the Champions League and failed to win the Coupe de France. Messi has especially expanded his record by finally winning the World Cup. On his return from his triumphant in Doha, the captain of Argentina, who will turn 36 in June, seemed to be moving towards an extension. But since then his performances have declined and a relative disenchantment with the public has set in.

Some beautiful moments in the Parisian jersey

Moreover, the transplant of the superstar seems to have never totally taken, despite some nice moments, his goal against Manchester City in the autumn of 2021 or a free kick of the last second against Lille (4-3), on February 19, a night when he had not shown much else but had offered the victory in champion, a good summary of his intermittent genius in Paris. But since his world title, won in the final against the France of Kylian Mbappé (3-3, 4 t.a.b. to 2), Messi is less brilliant with PSG. For example, like other teammates, he missed his 8th Champions League final against Bayern Munich (1-0/2-0).

The Qatari owners have not lost sight of the advantages of having the seven-time Ballon d'Or under contract. His arrival in Paris, where he had been welcomed like an emperor, helped expose Ligue 1, boosted merchandising and made the club talk around the world. But the situation has turned, and PSG is preparing to change its sporting policy, around its star Kylian Mbappé, a project less "bling-bling" and more turned towards the pool of Île-de-France, second "producer" of professional footballers after the region of São Paulo (Brazil).

Messi could return to FC Barcelona

Negotiations to extend his contract, which runs until 2024, should occupy the Parisian summer, which must also reflect on the future of its coach, Christophe Galtier, and his football advisor, Luis Campos. With or without them, PSG "wants to make a complete cultural transformation," says a close to the club's management. "Letting Messi go would be the continuation of this cultural change," the source said, "but the fans will have to adapt because you can't have both. If you opt for youth, it means that the results will not be automatic. They will have to be patient."

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The future of the Parisian number 30 is not yet sealed, discussions continue. But L'Equipe headlines "In the process of divorce" between PSG and Messi, and for RMC, "he will not be Parisian next season, unless Doha turns the table upside down". If he left, Messi could return to FC Barcelona, from which PSG snatched him in 2021 after a spectacular operation, or join the wealthy Saudi league, where his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo plays, or even the North American MLS, where Inter Miami would like to bring him.

On Friday, a Barca executive, Rafael Yuste, admitted that "there are contacts with Messi", although he immediately tempered his remarks, specifying that there is no plan to activate for a return to Catalonia of the Argentine star. Messi seems farther and farther from Paris...