PSG make claim about Messi's future

FT Desk

• 22 Nov 2022 16:36 GMT
• 3 min read

Lionel Messi is out of contract with Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season, and refused to sign an extension before the World Cup kicked off…

Messi is in his second season in Paris having joined the French champions on a free transfer from Barcelona last summer with his former employers €1.35 billion in debt.

After a difficult first season in the French capital, Messi has settled this term and went into the World Cup with Argentina with 12 goals and 14 assists from just 19 games in all competitions with PSG under his belt.

READ: If you think Ronaldo is better than Messi, it’s time to watch another sport

Messi scored his record-extending 92nd Argentina goal as the Albiceleste were shocked 2-1 by Saudi Arabia in their Group C opener, and he remains one of the most in-demand players in world football.

A move to David Beckham's Inter Miami has been mooted, as has a return to former club Barca, with whom Messi won 10 La Ligas and four Champions Leagues between 2004 and 2021, but PSG are confident of keeping him.

'Messi's happy in Paris'

"He's with us," club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi told Jim White on talkSPORT. "He's a Paris Saint-Germain player and has a contract with us. He has a contract with us, and we'll see at the end of the season. He's happy in Paris."

READ: Lionel Messi drops HUGE retirement hint

Messi, now 35, has admitted that this will be his last World Cup with Argentina, but he has been non-committal about his club future.

"It'll depend on how I feel personally and physically above all," he said recently. "After this World Cup we will see what could happen with my career."

Messi is rated at €45.5 million by Football Transfers' in-house algorithm despite his contract the Parc des Princes having just seven months left to run.

Having joined Barca as a youth player in 2000, he is yet to cost a club a significant transfer fee despite being arguably the greatest player of all time.