With Lionel Messi set to become a free agent at the end of the season, speculation over his future has been rife.
Contract talks with PSG are going on, while at the same time, links to former club Barcelona have been doing the rounds quite heavily. Inter Miami of the MLS are also keen on signing up the FIFA Best Men’s Player of the Year award winner.
The Argentina captain is also drawing interest from clubs in Saudi Arabia, who are prepared to throw crazy money in order to lure the best players from Europe.
Reports suggested that Al Hilal were interested in signing Messi in the summer and were planning to tempt him by offering a deal worth $300 million.
Now, Al-Ittihad, are keen on signing Messi as a free agent in the summer transfer window, reports Joan Fontes.
As per the update, the Middle Eastern outfit are ready to make the seven-time World Cup winner the highest-paid player of all time by offering him a massive two-year contract worth €88 million per season.
That is a crazy figure and speaks about the financial might of the clubs in the Middle East. However, while they may hold an interest in signing Messi, Al-Ittihad are unlikely to succeed in their endeavours as the 35-year-old still remains keen on playing at the highest level in Europe.
More talks with PSG are likely to take place in the coming weeks, while it has also been reported that Messi’s father and agent, Jorge, also met with Barcelona president Joan Laporta recently.
So, it will certainly be interesting to see how this situation develops in the coming weeks. However, it must be noted that a return to Barcelona could be difficult to pull off given the club’s Financial Fair Play issues.
