Lionel Messi’s future at Paris Saint-Germain has yet to be decided.
That’s according to French football journalist Jonathan Johnson, who has revealed exclusively to CaughtOffside that the Argentine megastar is not set to discuss his future until later this month.
Messi, 35, will be out of contract at the Parc des Princes at the end of the season, and although his deal contains the option to add an additional year, there has so far been no confirmation it has been triggered.
Consequently, fans have been anxiously contemplating the prospect of the 2022 World Cup winner leaving France’s capital ahead of time.
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Speaking in an interview, when asked about Messi’s impending free agency, Johnson 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.”
Going on to open up on the possibility the 35-year-old could complete a sensational return to boyhood club Barcelona, Johnson hinted that any hope of a move back to Spain has ‘died down’.
“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,” Johnson added.
“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.”