Paris Saint-Germain chief Leonardo has been told by Messi Sr that his son Lionel Messi has chosen Manchester City as his next club, according to reports in France.
PSG are one of the clubs vying to sign Messi and had contacted the Argentine’s father, Jorge, about a deal but was instead informed the Argentine star had decided to join Pep Guardiola’s City. Messi’s dad, Jorge, has apparently held talks with PSG chief Leonardo about a potential move to the Parc des Princes, it has been claimed. PSG had harbored hopes they could swoop in and hijack any potential deal as Manchester City are considered frontrunners in the race to sign the 33-year-old.
Messi has already decided to throw in the towel at Barca, having had enough of the Board’s failings affecting performance on the pitch and, consequently, is dead set to leave the Nou Camp behind.
The Argentina international feels Josep Maria Bartomeu has got recruitment horrifyingly wrong in his tenure as president, with the club seeing big-money signings Ousmane Dembele, Philippe Coutinho and Antoine Griezmann all failing to deliver.
Messi also believes the Barcelona board have made erroneous managerial calls too with the club’s talisman totally disenchanted and disgruntled at their latest decision to name Ronald Koeman as Quique Setien’s replacement.
Now, he’s already been pushed to the limits of his forbearance and is all ready to leave the club he’s served for close to 20 years.
And Argentinean website Ole’ claim Messi’s father, Jorge, has already held talks with PSG chief Leonardo about a potential move to the Parisienne club. Leonardo reportedly picked up the phone to speak to Messi’s father to express PSG’s interest in signing the veteran, who owner Nasser Al-Khelaifi has long dreamed of signing.
TyC Sports in Argentina had earlier reported that Paris Saint-Germain are stepping up their interest for the 33-year-old. The Argentinian media outlet stated that Les Parisiens have offered a more ‘superior’ contract than that of City. Although the Premier League offers better competition, TyC Sports believe that the capital club’s project and ambitions of winning the UEFA Champions League could cause Messi to consider PSG.
Not least among the attractions awaiting Messi at the Parc des Princes is the idea of playing alongside his former teammate Neymar Jr with the likes of Kylian Mbappé and Ángel Di María, his teammate on the Argentina national team, to boot that altogether makes the Ligue 1 champions a realistic threat to City for Messi.
The Brazil international spent four years playing alongside the Argentine earlier in their careers, striking up a stellar relationship both on and off the pitch.
And PSG are now left to continue holding on to their dream of Messi joining both Neymar and Kylian Mbappe in Thomas Tuchel’s star-studded attack.
Meanwhile, journalist Marcelo Bechler has claimed Barcelona are ‘pessimistic’ about their chances of keeping Messi this summer, telling Bleacher Report:
“At the beginning of the season he (Messi) said what was important was not a big contract or money, but a strong project.
“And with no titles and that loss to Bayern, he still has three or four years left to play and he knows he can help Barca – but they cannot help him.
“Messi has always thought him and Barca were ‘just one thing’ but now he is thinking maybe he can be another thing without Barcelona.
“He can make another step and try to win without Barcelona.
“He is angry with the board and disappointed with the club and wants to leave now. Barca are pessimistic because they can’t offer a solid project and can’t do much to help him.
“It is very likely he leaves Barcelona if there is another project, I don’t know where or which club.
“It is impossible in this economy to pay €700 million, but I think Barca don’t want him here unhappy. After all that Messi gave to them, they don’t want him here as a prisoner.”
Messi has won 10 La Liga titles as well as 4 Champions League crowns during his time at Barcelona. And he’s also scooped six Ballon d’Or awards – more than any player in history including Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo.
With Pep Guardiola as the Manchester City manager, the Premier League club is clearly the ideal choice for Lionel Messi. Furthermore, Marcelo Belcher of Esporte Interativo is placing City as the favorites to land Messi once his departure becomes official as he is looking forward to reunite with his former manager.