In the early morning of April 5, Beijing time, the famous journalist Romano revealed that the Saudi team Riyadh Crescent (also translated as Al Hilal) officially issued an offer to Messi, with an annual salary of 400 million euros. If Messi agrees to the offer, he will become the highest-paid player in the year, double Ronaldo's current annual salary.
In addition to Riyadh Crescent's super annual salary, Romano also revealed Messi's current situation. First of all, Messi's first choice is to stay in Europe. Secondly, former club Barcelona are waiting for a response from the Law of Fiscal Fairness (FFP) that will send Messi an offer and start negotiations. At present, Messi's club, Paris Saint-Germain, also sent an offer to extend his contract, but Messi did not accept it, and he waited for the club's planning guarantee in sports.
Not long ago, a number of French media reported that Messi will leave Paris Saint-Germain this summer. In the summer of 2021, Messi joined Greater Paris and the two sides signed a 2+1 contract, and the two-year contract will expire in June this year. Although Paris made an offer to renew his contract, it asked Messi to cut his salary, and there were reports that the salary cut reached 25%, which is unacceptable to Messi.
Judging by reports in the French and Argentine media, Messi will basically not stay in Paris unless the Qatari consortium changes its mind at the last minute. Messi himself is not happy in Paris at the moment, and he often hears boos from his fans during matches, which Messi has hardly encountered in his career. Messi's first choice is still to stay in Europe to play at a high level, and he is inclined to return to his old club Barcelona.
Barca are also willing to welcome back Messi, but it is very difficult to operate from this financial point of view. Even if Messi is willing to cut his salary and return, the highest annual salary Barca can give is only 10 million, which is 1/4 of Messi's current annual salary. Moreover, Barca's salary cap next season is another 200 million euros lower than this season. At present, Barca are unable to sign a team contract with Gavi due to salary problems, and the latter can only return to the reserves.
As was the case with Cristiano Ronaldo a few months ago, the Saudi league is the most likely place for Messi to go if he cannot stay in Europe. In January, Ronaldo joined Riyadh Victory, and the Saudi league immediately attracted global attention, and the Portuguese also received 200 million euros in annual revenue. If Messi agrees to Riyadh Crescent's offer, he will earn twice as much as Cristiano Ronaldo and the two will continue to play against each other in the Saudi league.