Campos hopes for three-year Messi stay at PSG

FT Desk

17 Sept 2022 04:00 BST
3 min read

Lionel Messi's PSG contract expires next summer, but sporting director Luis Campos hopes the Argentine legend extends his stay at the Parc des Princes beyond that.

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Campos - technically a 'Football Advisor' at Paris Saint-Germain - was speaking to Jerome Rothen on the former France midfielder's new talk show on RMC.

When asked about Messi's future in the French capital, who left little room for interpretation.

"I asked Messi if he wanted to stay and I told him that I hope he will stay here during my tenure here," said the 58-year-old, who previously masterminded the transfer strategy that led Monaco and Lille to Ligue 1 titles in recent years.

Messi, stop that. 😳 pic.twitter.com/voQYTLTcv6
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) August 6, 2022

"I'm very satisfied with Leo."

Messi joined PSG on a free transfer last summer with Barcelona unable to extend his contract amid a financial crisis which at one point saw their debt climb to €1.3 billion.

Barca have since got their finances under control - primarily by selling off rights to a percentage of future revenues - and Messi has been strongly linked with a return to Camp Nou.

Messi's Barca story unfinished?

"I would like to think that Messi's time at the club is not over, let alone the way it happened,' Barca coach Xavi, who played alongside Messi for 11 seasons, said this summer.

"I think he deserves a second chance, or another chance, to show that he can leave the club well and that he has been the best player in history.

"From next year we will talk about it. But if the question is whether I would like it, the answer is yes."

Messi endured a difficult start to his PSG career, only scoring six Ligue 1 goals in his first season, but he has already scored five and assisted eight from just 10 games in all competitions this season.