Now it’s official. Messi is a Paris Saint-Germain player. The announcement came in the evening through the social channels of the Parisian club with a video and the post «a new diamond in Paris. Psg x Messi “. The Argentine will wear the number 30 jersey (the one with which he made his debut with the blaugrana in 2004) and has signed a two-year contract, until 2023, with an option of one year for a figure that is around 35 million euros. season. It took just over 48 hours from the shock and tears of farewell to Barcelona to the acclamation at the airport in Paris. The new star at the foot of the Eiffel Tower will be presented tomorrow at the Parco dei Principi, in a press conference scheduled for 11 am.
With the arrival of the one from many quarters he is defined as the strongest footballer in the world, now Paris Saint-Germain has no more excuses not to aim straight for the Champions League. The black writing “Here is Paris”On a white t-shirt, mask in hand, smiles and greetings to the many fans who welcomed him upon his arrival at Paris – Le Bourget. Outside the airport they had been waiting for him since Sunday afternoon. Then immediately in the car, towards the American hospital in Paris, to get the doctors’ okay.
Messi arrived from Barcelona with his family. “Towards a new adventure, all five together,” wrote his wife, Antonela Roccuzzo, on Instagram, accompanying a selfie of the smiling couple aboard the private plane that landed in the French capital in mid-afternoon. Rumors of their imminent arrival were running around immediately after the Camp Nou press conference. But only today the transfer has materialized, after the agreement reached with the Emir of Qatar’s club.
At the PSG the ‘flea’ finds its historic mate in the blaugrana. “Together again,” Neymar posted on Instagram. The two forwards are back together four years after the Brazilian’s departure from Barca. In the French capital Messi will increase the Argentine representation: Mauro Icardi, Angel Di Maria and Leandro Paredes, in addition to the coach, Mauricio Pochettino. And it will be the new “diamond” (as defined by the same club in a video) of a pharaonic transfer campaign: from Gianluigi Donnarumma (free transfer from Milan) to Hakimi (from Inter) passing through Danilo Pereira (from Porto) up to Sergio Ramos (after 16 years at Real Madrid) and Wijnaldum (from Liverpool).
The signing of the six-time Golden Ball was made possible by the easing of the rules of financial fair play (which since 2010 have prevented clubs from spending more than they earned) by UEFA in the post-pandemic period. A contract that, however, Barcelona, overwhelmed by debts (for almost half a billion euros), could not have afforded. This is also why the Catalan club wants to quickly forget the star who shone in the first team for 17 years. At the Camp Nou the blow-up on a wall depicting the Argentine from Rosario together with the Blaugrana Griezmann, Ter Stegen and Piqué has already been removed. It is his former teammate Iniesta who conveys the idea of a widespread feeling among Barca fans: «It hurts to see him with another shirt» because «that was everything. He is a player who transcends a team. I’ve never seen a player like him and I don’t think I’ll see another one ».