LONDON: Lionel Messi, who stunned the football world earlier this week with the announcement that he wanted to leave Barcelona, will find himself at the centre of a bidding war with several leading clubs wanting to recruit him, reports say.
The Argentinian TyC Sports channel reported that Qatar’s Nasser bin Ghanim Al Khelaifi, the owner of Paris Saint-Germain football club, is making intense efforts to recruit the football legend to his club.
Meanwhile, Russia’s RT reported, quoting UK media, that Chairman of Manchester City Football Club Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan is exerting “massive” efforts to recruit the Argentine to his club.
In light of the strong competition with Italian clubs, Messi could sign a contract worth over €350 million.
In addition to Manchester City and PSG, other clubs like Juventus, Manchester United and Inter Milan have all been linked with a move for the six-time Ballon d’Or winner, who to this point has spent his entire senior career with the Camp Nou outfit.
RT reported that Paris Saint-Germain will be able to issue Messi with a higher-value contract than the one of Barcelona and could pay compensation to the Spanish club and Manchester City will not be able to do the same due to the Financial Fair Play Act.
Messi, 33, joined Barcelona as a young player and played his first match in 2004. He is the oldest player in the team and won “best world player” six times during his contract with Barcelona.
He played in 731 matches and scored 634 goals.