A Lion el-Messi Decision To Head To – Saudi & MLS Both Await With Open Arms

Expect Lionel Messi to make a choice soon. He “wants to return to Barca,” although Major League Soccer and Saudi Arabia are also available options.

Lionel Messi is on the cusp of making a decision that has the potential to alter the pecking order of international football. As a free agent, he can choose between Barcelona, Inter Miami of Major League Soccer, and Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia.

Everyone from in-the-know reporters to Barca coach Xavi believes that Messi will make his decision this week.

On Monday, journalists rushed Leo Messi’s father and agent Jorge after he met with Barca President Joan Laporta, hoping to pry some information out of him concerning the future of the greatest player in the history of the sport.

Jorge, hiding behind his shades and maintaining a hard attitude, did not. A translation of what he actually said is as follows: “Leo wants to return to Barca, and I would also like him to return.” Additionally, he affirmed that playing for Barca is a “option.”

Leo’s desires, as mentioned in the first part of Jorge’s sentence, are outdated information. Last week, though, reports and rumours began casting doubt on the latter. La Liga will not allow Barca to sign Messi due to their financial woes and the league’s transfer restrictions. So the Catalan club has not even been able to make a formal offer to their current legend.

It appears that permission has been granted; “La Liga approved the plan,” transfer source Fabrizio Romano tweeted on Monday, suggesting that Jorge Messi and Laporta met at the latter’s home and that Jorge now considers a reunion to be a viable and “option.”

It’s one of at least three possibilities, though. There is still speculation that Barca will play in the MLS or Saudi Arabia.

Does this make Barcelona the frontrunner?
The conversation between Messi and Laporta, as well as Leo’s possible return to the club he loves, might be interpreted in multiple ways. One is that what was once unthinkable is now very plausible.

After all, it makes perfect sense that Messi would want to relive his life in Barcelona, the city he called home from the ages of 13 to 34, play in the Champions League, and at the top level of his sport. Assuming Barca is capable of making that happen, it probably will.

However, another interpretation is that Messi and his representatives want the Spanish people to think he has given Barca every opportunity to organise a fairytale comeback when, in reality, he has already moved on.

This was the most astute interpretation of a column written by Guillem Balague, a Spanish writer with ties to Messi’s camp, which appeared in his paper last week. It countered stories that placed blame on parties other than Barca for the regulatory hurdles that had delayed negotiations.

The article said that Messi’s camp “has told Barcelona the decision on his future is imminent and they cannot wait any longer for a proposal from [Barca] that has not arrived.”

Balague stated bluntly that we would soon find out “where [Messi] will be playing his football next season — [and] the only thing that seems certain is that it will not be at Barcelona.”

Maybe they’ve come around since then. Perhaps Barca has worked its magic, or La Liga has relaxed its “Financial Fair Play” regulations. However, time is of the essence. Romano stated a few hours after Monday’s meeting that Laporta and Barca still hadn’t produced a formal bid.

The only absolutes are that Barca would still have to create way for Messi by selling players and that the GOAT would still have to take a huge salary cut, even with the money on offer in Saudi Arabia.

What about Al Hilal and Saudi Arabia? There has been a significant offer from Saudi Arabia on the table for almost a month. Reportedly, Messi’s annual compensation would be around $400 million. This would be the largest annual wage in sports history.

He’d suit up for Al Hilal, the best team in the Saudi Pro League, but his salary would be paid for by the Public Investment Fund, an endless pool of cash the royal family wants to use to boost the league’s (and the country’s) international prestige.

The Saudis had emerged as the clear frontrunners to sign Messi as of the previous week.

According to an AFP report from May 9 — which Jorge Messi has since rejected — it appeared to be a “done deal.” It has been stated that the Saudi government is prepared for Messi’s trip and is merely awaiting confirmation from the player.

So maybe it will actually happen, or maybe it’s all an act, an attempt to speed up a transaction as Barca drags its feet.

What about Major League Soccer and Inter Miami?
American negotiators have been the most reticent of the many participants in these complex talks. That can be an indication of dwindling self-assurance. It could either be natural or strategic.

We do know that representatives from Inter Miami and the Major League Soccer league have made contact with Messi’s family. Fabrizio Romano claims that they “presented their bid.”

According to Argentine journalist Veronica Brunati, Messi would make 10 times as much in Saudi Arabia as he would in Miami.

From what Balague has heard, Apple and Adidas are participating to “help bump up the deal,” but “the initial reaction from the Messi camp was that that offer was too complex and they were unconvinced.” (I’ll explain how and why a possible Apple partnership could pan out.)

Public opinion has Miami and MLS in last place, behind the other two contenders. However, they are still in the running.

Is Messi out of choices? Earlier this week, Romano claimed that “more European clubs [had been] approaching” as Messi’s decision drew near. But none have been mentioned; the three horses and PSG have been the only viable choices during the saga’s many months.

Now that Paris Saint-Germain is out of the running, the choices are Barcelona, Saudi Arabia, or Miami. Even though the process is well along, it appears that Messi still has not made a final decision.

Jorge Messi, microphones flashing in his eyes after meeting with Laporta and between promises that Leo would be happy to return to Barcelona, said, “I don’t know anything yet.”

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