Three destinations for Lionel Messi

Always closer to leaving Paris SG at the end of the season, Lionel Messi has courtiers in Saudi Arabia and the United States, even if FC Barcelona still dreams of bringing back his idol, a financial operation that is nevertheless delicate.

At the end of the contract at Paris SG, which suspended him after an unauthorized trip to Saudi Arabia, the Ballon d’Or has been negotiating for a long time with his longtime club, Barça, according to the specialized press.

The Argentinian dreams of returning to Catalonia at 36 – he will have them in June – and the Camp Nou is carried away by this sweet hope: on several occasions, the Barcelona stadium has chanted the name of his idol in recent weeks.

But the operation is complex for a Barça under budgetary pressure. According to the daily Mundo Deportivo, the club is still awaiting the validation by the Spanish league (LaLiga) of a « viability plan », which includes the extensions of Gavi, Ronald Araujo, Marcos Alonso and Sergi Roberto, as well as the return of Messi. But in order to register these players without going over the salary cap, Barca still need to reduce their spending by €200m.

One of the first decisions of the Blaugrana club to move towards this objective was to announce the closure of its BarçaTV television channel on June 30. According to the club, the chain suffers EUR 13m in losses per year, but according to the employees, many of whom will find themselves unemployed, these losses amount to only EUR 6m.

Sufficient ? The sulphurous LaLiga boss Javier Tebas expressed his doubts about the Argentinian’s return to Barça on Friday on RMC Sports: “As of today, Messi’s return to Barça seems complicated to me. Barça is not like PSG, which has a diesel and ticket tap to offer such big salaries.

Portfolio Pick: Saudi Arabia

Reunite Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the Saudi Championship and make it a showcase for the promotion of a Saudi candidacy for the organization of a World Cup in the coming years: the challenge is crazy, but seems commensurate with the financial power of the Gulf State.

Already under contract with the Saudi tourist office to promote it on its social networks – this was the subject of the Messi family’s unexpected trip to Riyadh – the Argentine star is also being courted to join the local Championship and recreate the mythical rivalry with « CR7 », Al-Nassr player since the winter transfer window.

Several media have mentioned in recent days the existence of a fabulous offer from the Al-Hilal club, valued at 400 million euros per year to bring in the sevenfold Ballon d’Or.

In February, an official familiar with the matter told AFP, on condition of anonymity, that Arabia was also seeking to forge partnerships with Messi to support his candidacy for the organization of a World Cup. A joint candidacy with Egypt and Greece for the 2030 World Cup has been discussed for several months, but has not been formalized.

After the golden bridge offered to Ronaldo, there is no doubt that Saudi Arabia can match Messi’s financial demands and break new records. But will the Argentinian isolate himself in this second-class championship one year before the 2024 Copa America, which could be his last international event?

The choice of living environment: Miami

This hypothesis comes up less frequently in transfer rumors, but it does exist: a new challenge for Messi at Inter Miami, Florida, in a North American league that has always eyed late-career South American stars, such as Kaka, Gonzalo Higuain or currently Douglas Costa.

The option has the advantage of bringing the family closer to Argentina, to Miami, where the Messis already have a base.

Former Parisian David Beckham is also one of the co-owners of the Florida franchise and the Englishman has made an appearance in recent days at Camp des Loges, PSG’s training center, where he was able to pose with  » La Pulga” for some pictures.

« I’m not going to deny that there is truth to the rumors of an interest in Lionel Messi, » Inter Miami coach Phil Neville admitted to The Times in late February. “For MLS, it would be a decisive contribution.”