LIGUE 1
Revealed: when PSG star Lionel Messi will decide on his future amidst Barcelona and MLS interest
The Argentina captain has returned to full training with PSG after apologising for his authorised trip to Saudi Arabia. Where will he play next?
The start of Lionel Messi’s week has, presumably, been rather than less chaotic than the beginning of the previous one. Last Monday, it was revealed that the Argentina captain had gone on a trip to Saudi Arabia that hadn’t been authorised by his club, Paris Saint-Germain, who hit him with a two week-suspension, during which time he wouldn’t train with, play for or be paid by the club. However, images surfaced of the ex-Barcelona star back in training this Monday following his public video apology on Friday.
When will Messi make a decision on his future?
Messi appears to have kissed and made up with PSG, at least to a certain extent, but his future remains very much up in the air. Despite a number of reports claiming that he is on the verge of accepting an eye-watering €400 million ($440 million) per season offer from Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner won’t make a final decision about what the future holds until the season has finished and hasn’t had any advanced talks with any interested party.
Messi’s immediate objective is crystal clear: get back in the PSG team and secure the Ligue 1 title in the last four games of the campaign. Only once the celebrations are over (assuming the Parisian side have no further slip-ups), will the Argentine decide where he will be playing his soccer after the summer.
What options does Messi have for next season?
As things stand, there is still a chance that he could stay put after all, with PSG seemingly not closing the door on him staying at Parc des Princes. A return to Barcelona or the more left-field options of Al Hilal and MLS’ Inter Miami are the others, although no offers have officially been put in front of him and the latter two have the obvious drawbacks of preventing Messi from playing at the highest level in Europe, which he would like to do for at least another season.
Will Lionel Messi win an eighth Ballon d’Or?
In any case, the 35-year-old will postpone making a decision to focus on clinching the league title in France for a second successive season. Winning both Ligue 1 and the World Cup in the same season may be enough for him to win an eighth Ballon d’Or, but ending the campaign in top form would undoubtedly help even more. Messi’s focus will very much be on the field for the next few weeks. The off-field side of things will follow once he has more silverware in his hands.