‘Messi set for megabucks Saudi move’

ARGENTINE superstar Lionel Messi will play in Saudi Arabia next season under a blockbuster deal, a source close to the negotiations in the kingdom told AFP yesterday.

The deal would mean Messi potentially joins his arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo in the Saudi league as the Gulf state lavishes its oil wealth on sport.

There was no confirmation from Messi’s current club Paris Saint-Germain, who noted simply that he was under contract until 30 June when contacted by AFP.

The source said Messi will sign a “huge” deal with an as-yet-unnamed Saudi club just months after the 35-year-old lifted the World Cup in neighbouring Qatar in December.

“Messi is a done deal. He will play in Saudi Arabia next season,” said the source, who is not authorised to speak to media and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The contract is exceptional. It’s huge. We are just finalising some small details,” added the source.

A separate PSG source said the Qatar-owned French club had not offered Messi a new deal.

“If the club had wanted to renew his contract, it would have been done earlier,” that source said.

Despite several reports linking Messi with Al Hilal, one of the top Saudi teams, club sources told AFP they had not been in direct contact with PSG.

Lionel Messi’s father and agent Jorge insisted on Tuesday his son has not decided where he will play next season.

“There is absolutely nothing agreed with any club for next year,” Messi’s father wrote on Instagram.

“The decision will not be made before Lionel finishes the league with PSG.”

Just five years after allowing its first non-Muslim tourists visit and letting women drive, Saudi Arabia is attempting to open up its conservative society and diversify its oil-reliant economy.

The world’s biggest oil exporter has thrown hundreds of millions at sports deals including Ronaldo’s signing, Formula One in Jeddah and the divisive LIV Golf tour, drawing frequent claims it is “sportswashing” its human rights record.

Messi was suspended by Qatari-owned PSG last week for an unauthorised mid-season trip to Saudi, where he is a tourism ambassador.

He has also been heavily linked to a return to his former club, Barcelona. A spokesman for the Spanish LaLiga leaders said, “We don’t know anything about that,” when asked about a potential Saudi deal.

— Supersport