Lionel Messi is fixed in Paris – Newspaper Kommersant No. 241 (7442) of 12/27/2022

The World Cup in Qatar, which ended on December 18, most likely killed, it is possible, the main transfer intrigue of next summer in world football. The hero of the Qatari championship, Lionel Messi, who, it was believed, could move after the end of the current season from PSG either to his native Barcelona or to the American Inter Miami, agreed to extend the contract with the Parisian club.

Seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi has reached an agreement in principle on a new contract with PSG, according to a number of sources, including the BBC and Le Parisien. According to them, the term of the new agreement, which will be executed next summer, immediately after the expiration of the previous agreement, will be one year with the option of extending for another season.

This news means the disappearance of potentially the main transfer intrigue of the summer market. The fact is that last fall, that is, immediately before the World Cup, various media resources claimed that the Argentine was ready to leave PSG after the end of the current season. At the same time, two options for continuing the player’s career were indicated.

The first was a return to Lionel Messi’s hometown of Barcelona, ​​where he began his professional career in 2003 and during which he played a total of 18 seasons, winning numerous trophies, including ten Spanish league titles and four Champions League titles. Messi’s parting with the Spanish club that brought him worldwide fame was one of the loudest football stories in this century. Barcelona on the flagship of French football he changed in 2021 as a free agent, having made a demarche a few months before the transition. Lionel Messi tried to unilaterally terminate the contract with the club, which was in deep crisis, saying that he was completely dissatisfied with the actions of his leadership and, above all, former president Josep Bartomeu.

Since then, Joan Laporta, appointed to a key post at Barcelona instead of the sacked Bartomeu, has repeatedly stated that he will try to persuade the 35-year-old Messi to return to the Spanish team. He spoke about this even in December, shortly before the World Cup final.

The second option, which publications such as The Athletic and As informed about the existence of before the world championship, was a transfer to the Inter Miami club: it is owned by the famous English footballer David Beckham in the past. Many veterans at the end of their careers go to the American League from Europe.

It seems that it was during the World Cup in Qatar, which poured out In the Argentine team triumph and the personal triumph of the leader of the national team, who won the main football prize for the first time and scored seven goals in the tournament, showing a fantastic game in terms of efficiency, there was a turning point in the four-month-long negotiations, according to the BBC. They were led by representatives of Lionel Messi (primarily his father Jorge) with the management of the French club. In the course of the championship, according to this version, a key meeting with PSG President Qatari Nasser Al-Khelaifi took place.

Explaining why Lionel Messi decided to stay in France, Guillem Balagué, BBC expert on Spanish football, remarked that in fact Barcelona had not yet contacted him about a return, and life in Paris seemed to the player to be “balanced” and “happy”.

In addition, Messi is confident that at PSG, where his attacking partners are French and Brazilian superstars Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, he has a “real opportunity” to win the Champions League again.

Le Parisien agrees with this point of view. He adds that Lionel Messi’s family “likes Paris very much”, and this circumstance, in turn, allows the Argentine to “keep the top level”. Le Parisien also notes that Messi would like to bring PSG the most valuable club trophy: the French team, despite huge investments, has not yet obtained it. In the current Champions League draw, she will have to play in the 1/8 finals with the German Bayern at the beginning of next year.

Alexey Dospekhov