Much has been made about PSG’s plight following a hugely disappointing Champions League exit against Bayern Munich, and a chorus of whistles and boos before their Ligue 1 defeat to Rennes over the weekend may have several of their superstars thinking twice about their future in Paris. With no one exempt from the criticism pouring down from the stands on Sunday, we are looking at Lionel Messi next club options after the Argentine was targeted heavily by fans.
Lionel Messi was spotted storming down the tunnel despite some of the PSG squad staying on the pitch to applaud fans after their defeat to Rennes, which has only added to speculation that he may opt for the exit come the summer.
Reports in France suggest the Paris board are treading with caution over offering the seven-time Ballon D’or winner a fresh contract extension, particularly after some of the more unsavoury fans could be heard booing him prior to kick-off.
With the newly-crowned World Cup winner’s future up in the air as he approaches 36 this summer, we have decided to offer up some alternative options for the game’s greatest player, should his unplanned stint in the French capital be cut short.
Lionel Messi Next Club: A Fairytale Return Home?
Not HOME home, but a return to his adoptive city Barcelona would undoubtedly be the final magical chapter in the mercurial tale of Lionel Messi.
His infamous exit back in 2021 was gut-wrenching for even the most anti-Barca observers, as he teared up in front of the press following the collapse of a new deal, due to financial and structural obstacles posed by La Liga regulations.
Although he has been firing on all cylinders this season in Ligue 1 as he settles into life in Paris, an underlying sense that business is unfinished at Barcelona remains bubbling under the surface, and it is still an uneasy sight seeing him don a shirt other than the Blaugrana.
Loyal servant Sergi Roberto, who scored in Barcelona 2-1 Clasico win over Real Madrid on Sunday, even publicly ‘welcomed’ his former teammate back whilst blasting the PSG faithful over their treatment of Messi.
Sergi Roberto: "I hope Messi comes back. We are waiting for him. He does not deserve the treatment he receives in Paris", told @JijantesFC 🔵🔴 #FCB
"We are waiting for Leo, we want him at Barça". pic.twitter.com/aRl8uEkfAF
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 20, 2023
Of course, it remains a remote possibility that Barcelona, a club stricken by mounting debt and a tenuous relationship with La Liga, would be able to bring him back, but it is easy to forget Messi had to uproot his entire life from a city he had resided in since he was 13.
Lionel Messi Next Club – Return Home 2.0?
Messi has long been vocal about his ties to his native Rosario, the city where his God-given football skills were honed on the dusty pitches of the Santa Fe province.
He famously began his journey into professional football aged six at Newell’s Old Boys, supposedly scoring almost 500 goals across his six years in the academy for the “The Machine of ’87”, a team known for their iron-clad record.
In 2016, he said; “I can assure you that I would love to play in the Argentine league and for Newell’s, but from there it depends on many things.”
Rumours of a return to his homeland have most certainly died down as the state of football shifts towards capital gain and contractual obligations, but a reunion with Old Boys would restore a little more of my faith in the sport – not that Lionel Messi could ever make me think otherwise.
Lionel Messi Next Club – A Venture Further Afield?
Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Saudi Arabia doesn’t appear to be something that would interest Messi, particularly having recently been awarded the Golden Ball as a World Cup winning captain, while also registering 35 goal involvements in 32 games this season. The bottom line is, Messi is still the world’s best player on his day, capable of competing at the very highest level.
Rumours of a transfer to David Beckham’s Inter Miami refuse to go away, with the MLS as a league prepared to help the club bring him to the USA in the biggest coup for the nation’s ever-growing league – they are current favourites to sign him in his ‘next club’ odds market.
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