After having successfully extended the contract of their protegé Kylian Mbappe, which has elevated him to the status of being the highest-paid footballer in the world, Parisian giants Paris Saint-Germain are reportedly keen to extend the contract of their other superstar forward Lionel Messi by a further year.
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner penned a deal in the Parc des Princes until 2023 after radically departing Barcelona last summer in a move that stnned the world. Yet, despite his debut season at PSG being admittedly his worst for goal contributions for 15 years, there was still no doubting the humongous economic value that Messi brought to the club in terms of shirt sales and sponsorship deals.
According to Marca, the Ligue 1 champions have already made known their intentions to the 35-year-old that they want him to stay beyond next summer although a concrete offer is yet to be made. Significantly though, on Messi’s part, the inclination is that he will not make a decision on his future until after the Qatar World Cup in the winter.
Reports also allude to the fact that the forward’s current contract already includes the option of a one-year extension, but Marca claims otherwise.
Messi had struggled initially with fitness issues when he first signed for PSG last summer, and his first goal for the club did not come until November and he only found the net six times in Ligue 1 throughout the campaign.
However, he finished second behind Kylian Mbappe in the area of assists with 14, besides also scoring five times in the Champions League although the Parisians finally crashed out to Real Madrid in a challenging tussle that could have easily gone either way.
Messi’s contract in Paris is reported to be worth £960,000-per-week, making him the second-highest player in the world just a little behind PSG team-mate Mbappe.