Lionel Messi is being lined up for a stunning $94m a year move to Saudi Arabia, according to reports in Marca and The Sun newspapers.
The Argentina World Cup winner is wanted by Al Ittihad, the second in the table side in Saudi Arabia’s pro league.
Lionel Messi is out of contract with PSG in the summer and would be a free agent if he were to depart.
Lionel Messi to Saudi Arabia
The French side are determined to keep hold of the football legend, but he may look to make one final move before retiring.
A romantic return to Barcelona has been mooted, as has a high-profile move to David Beckham’s Inter Miami side in the US league.
However, Al Ittihad are set to enter negotiations for Messi with a mouth-watering contract worth $94m a year.
Marca also reports the club may have already approached Messi’s inner circle to determine the Argentina star’s level of interest in making a move to Jeddah, citing a report by journalist Joan Fontes.
A move to Al Ittihad would re-open one of the all-time great sporting rivalries and pit Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo against each other once again.
Jeddah-based Al Ittihad are a rival team to Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr of Riyadh. The two teams currently lie in first and second place in the Saudi league and are due to face one another on Thursday, March 9.
The Sun newspaper reports that the suggested contract offer is significantly lower than Ronaldo’s current deal, but money is unlikely to be a stumbling block for Messi.
With an estimated personal net worth of more than $600m and a winners’ medal collection including 11 league titles, four Champions Leagues, multiple cup trophy wins and, crucially, international triumph at the Olympics, FIFA World Cup and the Copa America, the Argentine can arguably be said to have completed football.
It is a challenge rather than money or chasing down yet another trophy that is most likely to interest the 35-year-old towards the end of his career.
Facing off against an era-defining opponent like Cristiano Ronaldo could be the challenge he is looking for and Al Ittihad are poised to offer the contract to make it happen.
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