The football world was flipped on its axis on Thursday night after an official confirmation from Barcelona confirmed that world-class attacker Lionel Messi will be departing the club – signalling an end to a 21-year partnership.
Following decimated finances, it is understood that the La Liga giants have not been able to work within La Liga’s guidelines in order to facilitate Messi’s new contract.
Confirming fans’ biggest fears, a statement on the club’s official website read: “Despite club and player reaching an agreement and their clear intention to sign a new contract today, this cannot happen because of financial and structural obstacles.”
Confirming that Mauricio Pochettino’s side is in fact very much in the running to sign Messi, leading football transfer expert Fabrizio Romano recently reported that the club are ‘feeling confident’ an agreement can be reached.
However, most interestingly, if Romano’s claims are anything to go by – Paris-Saint Germain are also leaning on the strong relationship between their own star attacker Neymar Jnr and Messi in order to help convince the Barcelona legend to make the switch.