Lionel Messi says goodbye to Barcelona but insists PSG transfer is not over yet | football news

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Emotional Lionel Messi says he does not want to leave Barcelona but a move to Paris Saint-Germain has not been confirmed.

Messi was in tears as he was given a standing ovation at his last press conference with Barcelona to announce the end of his 21 years with the club.

Barcelona confirmed the departure of the six-time Ballon d’Or winner on Thursday evening, the same day he returned to Catalonia after vacation after the Copa America.

Messi had traveled to Barcelona, ​​expecting to agree on the details of announcing his new contract for five years, and confirmed that he had offered to reduce his salary by 50 percent.

“This year, my family and I were convinced that we would stay at home, that’s what we all wanted more than anything,” Messi said.

“We always made this, we were at home. We thought we would stay here in Barcelona. But today, we have to say goodbye to all this.”

Barcelona president, Joan Laporta, has blamed Messi’s exit from the club’s previous system as well as La Liga spending rules thwarting any hopes of the Argentine staying in Catalonia.

“I did everything I could and Laporta couldn’t do it because of La Liga,” Messi said.

And he added, “I’m not ready for it. And to be honest, with all this nonsense with the Powerfax, I was convinced of what I wanted to say.”

“We thought we’d stay in Barcelona. The time we spent here was great.”

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Sky Sports News correspondent Gary Cottrell said Messi spoke to Paris Saint-Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino about moving to the French club after leaving Barcelona.

Messi spoke directly to PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino as he is close to joining the French club after leaving Barcelona.

PSG are offering Messi a two-year deal worth £25m a year after tax with another year’s option. The 34-year-old and his father, Jorge, are preparing for the show’s arrival this weekend.

Asked if moving to Paris Saint-Germain would be his next step, Messi said: “This is one of the possibilities to reach those heights.

“Nothing has been confirmed with anyone. I’ve had a lot of calls, a lot of clubs interested. At the moment, nothing is closed, but we are talking about a lot of things.”

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Lionel Messi’s move to Paris will raise the bar for French football around the world, but serious questions will be raised about PSG’s ability to operate within the rules of Financial Fair Play (FFP).

French clubs have been hit hard by the pandemic. The first and second leagues did not finish their seasons after being suspended in March last year and the LFP’s €800m-a-year local broadcasting deal with Mediapro collapsed four months into its first season.

Despite the problems in French football, Paris Saint-Germain, with the support of its Qatari owners, is confident they can balance their books by selling players and signing Messi without violating the rules of team play.

PSG’s €414m wage bill in 2019/20 was more than three times that of the next richest club – Lyon’s annual salary bill was €132m.

PSG have already signed Achraf Hakimi from Inter Milan this summer for €60m, and they have awarded big contracts to three players who have been free agents – Gianluigi Donnarumma, Sergio Ramos and Jorginho Wijnaldum.

They are still in talks with Kylian Mbappe about a contract extension – his current deal will expire next summer.

Messi’s signing with PSG will make it very difficult for them to be able to afford Paul Pogba’s signing from Manchester United this summer.

Any Messi deal would be a huge boost to Qatar as it prepares to host the World Cup next year.

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