Will Lionel Messi follow Cristiano Ronaldo to Saudi Arabia after PSG?
We now know Lionel Messi will be leaving Paris Saint-Germain this summer. The million-dollar question is where will the Argentine star end up.
Or, perhaps more accurately, it is a £320million question of whether Messi will accept the Saudi Arabian gold.
That is the eye-watering sum the World Cup winner is reportedly being offered per year to join a club in the Middle Eastern country’s Pro League.
It doesn’t really matter which club – though Al Hilal are the ones linked – because the Saudi government will help subsidise a deal that would make Messi the highest-paid athlete in the world.
He would be earning nearly double the £175m-a-year his long-standing rival Cristiano Ronaldo is currently paid at Al-Nassr in the Kingdom.
Lionel Messi, wife Antonela Roccuzzo and sons Mateo and Ciro pose with horses during their visit to Saudi Arabia last week which led to the Argentine player being suspended by PSG
Messi poses with a falcon during his Saudi visit amid rumours he could play football there
Cristiano Ronaldo with his family in Saudi Arabia after he signed for Al-Nassr back in January