Lionel Messi flew via private jet to Paris on Tuesday to finalise his move to Paris Saint-Germain.
The Argentina international traveled to the French capital following Sunday’s emotional farewell to Barcelona at a news conference. Sources told ESPN that Messi has agreed to sign a two-year contract at PSG, with the option to extend for a third year.
Messi completed a medical Tuesday and visited the stadium. He will wear the No. 30 shirt, which was his first number at Barcelona. PSG officially announced the news conference for Wednesday at 11 a.m. and also posted a 13-second video on their social media with images of Messi’s No. 10 Argentina shirt and a graphic that read: “New diamond in Paris.”
They also dropped another hint with a second video of the Eiffel Tower, flanked by six Ballons d’Or, in allusion to Messi. The news conference had been originally planned for Tuesday, but sources told ESPN it was moved to Wednesday as PSG need more time to cope with logistics amid worldwide media interest in the transfer.
Messi boarded the aircraft as hundreds of fans waited for him at the Bourget airport in France and at PSG’s Parc des Princes stadium. The Bombardier Global 7500 touched down in France just after 3.30 p.m local time on Tuesday (10.30 a.m. ET).
Messi, wearing a shirt that read “This is Paris,” waved to fans upon his arrival.
Messi’s father, Jorge, who acts as the player’s agent, was asked by reporters at Barcelona’s El Prat airport if his son will sign for PSG.
“Yes,” he replied.
Asked who was at fault for Messi leaving Barcelona, Jorge Messi said: “Find out at the club.”
Sources have told ESPN that PSG’s contract offer for the six-time Ballon d’Or winner will see him earn more than PSG and Brazil star Neymar, Messi’s former teammate at Barca. Sources added Messi will stay at Hotel Le Royal Monceau, the same location Neymar stayed when he completed his world-record €222m move to PSG in 2017.
Messi’s contract with Barca expired on June 30, and despite attempts to keep the club’s all-time leading scorer, the deal could not be completed due to financial constraints.
A tearful Messi said at a news conference on Sunday that he had wanted to remain at Barca and agreed to a 50% wage cut, but the club had no room to manoeuvre because of their failure to offload other players in time and reduce their high wage bill.
Messi’s proposed five-year deal at Barcelona meant the club’s wage bill stood at 110% of their revenue. Their spending cap with LaLiga has dropped from more than €600 million in 2019-20 to an expected €200m for the coming season, which made it impossible to register the new deal, even with a pay cut.
Messi admitted he had received several calls from clubs since the news broke that he would not continue his 21-year association with Barca. (ESPN)
