SOCCER
Has Lionel Messi extended his PSG contract?
PSG boss Christophe Galtier was asked about Lionel Messi’s contract extension before the Argentine’s return to action against Angers on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, league leaders Paris Saint-Germain take on bottom club Angers in what you might normally describe as a fairly run-of-the-mill Ligue 1 clash. But few things are ever run-of-the-mill when Lionel Messi is involved. Following his World Cup heroics, the Argentina superstar will make his return to club soccer at the Parc des Princes this midweek.
With Messi out of contract in Paris in the summer of 2023, rumours surrounding his future had been circulating viciously throughout the tournament in Qatar; would he extend his stay at PSG? Would he make a sensational return to Barcelona? Would he join Inter Miami, owned by David Beckham, in Major League Soccer?
Those seemed to be the three main options on the table until, three days after Messi’s triumphant performance in the World Cup final against France, French newspaper Le Parisien revealed that he had reached a verbal agreement with PSG at the start of December to remain at the club for at least another season.
With Messi not having played a game of soccer since that final, and having spent much of the last few weeks celebrating his nation’s victory, things had gone quiet on the contract extension front, but it’s a topic that has come back into focus now that he is about to return to action.
What did Christophe Galtier say about Lionel Messi’s PSG contract?
On the eve of PSG’s clash against Angers, head coach Christophe Galtier was inevitably asked about the latest developments in his star playmaker’s possible contract extension and was confident that Messi would be staying put:
“There have been talks, the club has spoken to Leo about extending his deal. I don’t know what point the negotiations are at. But I think he is happy in Paris. Then we have to wait and see how he feels about the project at the club. I really have the feeling that he wants to stay.
“But it’s not something that I’ll deal with personally. (Sporting advisor) Luis Campos and our president are the ones negotiating with Leo and his representatives.”