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Lionel Messi’s father and agent, Jorge Messi, has blasted rumors he has been in touch with French champions Paris Saint-Germain as “fake news.” Messi senior took to Instagram stories to respond to speculation about the Barcelona captain.
ESPN Argentina had earlier reported that the French champions had been in touch with Jorge Messi with regards the possibility of negotiating a move for the 33-year-old in January.
The report added that PSG wanted to be at the front of the queue when it comes to talking to Messi. The Argentine is free to negotiate a pre-contract with other clubs from January as he is in the final year of his contract.
The Ligue 1 side were also said to want Messi for two reasons. Firstly, they believe landing the superstar would be seen as a great coup, and secondly they think Messi’s arrival would help convince Neymar to extend his contract at the Parc des Princes.
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PSG Rumor Quickly Refuted
The report from ESPN Argentina was also quickly slammed by Onda Cero journalist Alfredo Martinez who branded the report “completely false.” Martinez adds that Jorge Messi has not had any contact at all from PSG.
Yet it is true that PSG were interested in Messi over the summer after he informed Barcelona he wanted to leave. Sporting director Leonardo told Canal+ that his club discussed making a move for the 33-year-old, as reported by Marca.
We certainly thought about it. There’s a complicated situation with Financial Fair Play, but when we heard Messi could be on the market… it tempted us. We asked ourselves if it really was possible. There are some players who are completely out of the ordinary. The problem now is that all the clubs need to sell before they can buy and PSG are no different. But it’s difficult, because nobody is buying.
Leonardo has also confirmed this week that PSG have opened contract talks with Neymar in a Q&A session on PSG’s official website. The Brazilian moved to the French club in 2017 from Barcelona on a five-year deal.
What Next for Messi?
Messi has not spoken publically about his future since giving an interview to Goal’s Ruben Uria in September when he explained his frustrations at the club and confirmed he wanted to leave.
It’s not clear if he will prolong his stay at the Camp Nou, but it certainly appears that he is not in any rush to make a decision on his next move. The Argentine is currently away on international duty after starting the season with six goals in 10 games for Barcelona.
According to Marca, Messi will not make a final decision on his future “until the end of the season.” The forward wants to see how the team fares in 2020-21 under new manager Ronald Koeman and also who replaces Josep Maria Bartomeu as president.
Meanwhile, Koeman has made it clear how highly he values Messi still in an interview with Sport. The Dutchman explained that, “right now, Barça have been, are and will be a better team with Messi than without Messi.”
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