Al Hilal, a Saudi Arabian club, offered to make Lionel Messi the world’s highest-paid player in a proposed deal to eclipse Cristiano Ronaldo at rivals Al Nassr.
Ronaldo’s long-term sporting rival, Messi, may also be about to join him in the Middle Eastern nation. His future at Paris Saint-Germain looks more uncertain than ever, and along with Sergio Ramos, the Ligue 1 giants have put his contract talks on hold.
Lionel Messi joined PSG on a two-year contract in the summer of 2021 – with his deal up for renewal in June and talks currently stalled. After a difficult debut campaign in Paris, he has netted 18 goals, provided 19 assists this season, and spoken of his happiness at adapting to life in France this term.
However, with PSG pausing contract renewal talks, his future was doubted, as they looked to avoid further punishment by compromising UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations. PSG were one of 10 clubs fined for breaching FFP last year; €10m with a further €45m suspended alongside Champions League sanctions should they fail to comply with FFP going forwards.
A report in L’Equipe has outlined how Messi will need to drop his wage demands at PSG if he is to remain in the French capital beyond this season. Only a wage drop for the Argentine would allow the club to continue complying with FFP demands and avoid sporting and financial sanctions.
Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo was rebuffed after attempting to wrest control of the Manchester United captaincy from Harry Maguire as the situation at Old Trafford deteriorated last season.
Cristiano Ronaldo has signed a $75 million-per-year contract with Al Nassr FC, which plays in Saudi Arabia’s top flight.
Ronaldo, 37, was a free agent after agreeing to terminate his contract at Manchester United and it was believed he could head elsewhere in Europe to try and wrack up more records in the UEFA Champions League. Still, he didn’t receive any “serious offers” to continue his career in Europe.
Ronaldo has instead joined Al Nassr to help promote the game in Saudi Arabia (and—not to belabour the point, but—for a few hundred million).
