Lionel Messi and PSG prepare to sit for crucial contract talks

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By Martin Graham | 17th Feb 2023

Talk of Messi’s future in PSG is set to be decided soon in a bid to settle speculations surrounding his signature

Argentine World Cup winner, and PSG star, Lionel Messi, has been the subject of continuous speculation concerning the status of his contract agreement with the French club.

It has now been revealed that talks are set to be held between the club and Messi later this month to discuss his future playing in the capital.

Although his contract is set to run out at the end of the season, Messi’s deal has an option to extend it further for a year. No sources can confirm if this extension has been activated.

The result of this is uncertainty among fans concerning Messi’s intention to stay in Paris.

An exclusive Report on Lionel Messi’s contract talks

French football journalist, Jonathan Johnson, spoke about Messi’s contract situation in an interview, and when asked about the status of the contract talks, he said: “The latest, as I understand it, is that there are contract extension meetings scheduled between PSG and Lionel Messi’s camp for later on in the month.

“At the moment, nothing has been decided either way including the player’s salary. But one thing that is certain is that this potential extension is as important to Ligue 1 as it is to PSG. There is a vested interest from the French league for a player of Messi’s calibre to continue.

“The crunch will be later this month and obviously, with the way things have gone for the Parisians this season, including being out of the French Cup already, as well as suffering a first-leg Champions League defeat against Bayern Munich on Tuesday night, it’s safe to say this campaign isn’t shaping up to be their best, so for Messi, this could go one of two ways; he will either feel determined to make next season a better one, or he will feel frustrated and may not want to waste another year.”

When asked about the possibility of Messi joining another club, especially the rumoured return to boyhood club Barcelona, instead of signing an extension with PSG, he said: “Obviously, there was a lot of talk of Inter Miami trying to sign him not that long ago, and although it was never really that advanced, they do retain some interest, but so do a lot of other clubs.

“Barcelona are not one though. Any suggestions of Messi returning to the Nou Camp have all but died down now. Their project has changed since he left nearly two years ago and there are still a lot of raw emotions about how he left. There has been a lot of frustration on Messi’s part, not so much toward the current regime, but certainly the previous one, about how he left. He still feels hurt and angry about how his time at the club came to an end.”