Lionel Messi reportedly agrees to deal with Paris Saint-Germain
Lionel Messi is en route to France to finalize a move to Paris Saint-Germain, the Associated Press reported Tuesday. It's reportedly a two-year deal with an option for a third and is worth around $41 million annually.
The six-time Ballon d'Or winner's father, Jorge, confirmed Messi was joining PSG while speaking with reporters at the airport, per the AP. There have been reports Messi would join the side after becoming a free agent earlier this summer.
On Sunday, Messi, 34, confirmed his departure from Barcelona, the only club he's known for 21 years, in an emotional media conference. His contract expired at the end of last season while Barcelona faced financial issues. Ultimately those issues prevented a reported five-year deal from becoming official, and the club announced Thursday the two had to part ways.
Messi leaves Barcelona
Messi joined Barcelona as a 13-year-old in 2000 and scored 464 goals over 17 seasons on the senior club.
Barcelona said in a statement last week it could not complete the agreed-upon deal because of "financial and structural obstacles" in the Spanish La Liga regulations. The club would have had to cut about $200 million in salary to keep Messi, per the New York Times. The only way for that to happen was if La Liga gave the club an exception and chief executive Javier Tebas made clear last month it wasn't going to happen.
Though the Argentina star wanted to leave last summer, he said during his media conference he didn't want to leave now.
PSG has enough to pay Messi
Messi will join Brazil forward Neymar and France's World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe on the roster. The club has been funded by Aatari sovereign wealth and can finance all of that talent.
The signing of Messi didn't not require a transfer fee since his contract had expired. He'll play for fellow Argentinian Mauricio Pochettino, who was in contact with Messi after the announcement on Thursday.
PSG is looking to win back the French title, which it lost to Lille last season. The club is also looking to win the Champions League.
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