Foot Mercato are reporting that the entourage of Paris Saint-Germain forward Lionel Messi (35) has agreed a record-breaking deal with Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal.
Messi will almost certainly play his final game for PSG on Saturday night when they face Clermont Foot at the Parc des Princes. Despite his reintegration into the first-team set-up following an unsanctioned trip to Saudi Arabia, the Argentinian World Champion is expected to leave Les Parisiens at the end of the season, although his next destination is not yet known.
AFP reported earlier in May that Messi had a verbal agreement in place to join a Saudi Arabian side, although the player’s entourage denied the existence of any such agreement to Get French Football News. However, Foot Mercato report that a deal is now in place.
According to the French publication, it is currently likely that Messi will join Al-Hilal upon the expiry of his PSG contract at the end of the season. Whilst the player still dreams of a return to Barcelona, Messi is now more receptive to the idea of joining the Saudi Arabian top-flight given the uncertainty surrounding the Catalan club’s finances.
Should Messi join Al-Hilal, he would earn €1.2bn over the course of a two-year deal. That is more than double what Cristiano Ronaldo is currently earning at Saudi rivals Al-Nassr. The deal would also allow his father, Jorge Messi, as well as his brother, to earn the highest commission in footballing history. Foot Mercato go so far as to say that Jorge Messi has already agreed to the deal proposed by Al-Hilal.
