Lionel Messi: What’s Next?

There has been a lot of speculation about what move is next for the Argentine footballer Lionel Messi as his contract with Paris Saint-Germain is set to expire this summer. Messi just won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with Argentina this past December and now after just 2 years of playing in France, will be on the move once again. 

Taking a look at the oddsmakers, the books have quite a few possible clubs that Messi could sign with this summer if looking to wager on it but there are 3 clubs that really stand out as the 3 favorites. These 3 clubs that have the best chance of signing Messi are Barcelona from La Liga, Al Hilal Riyadh from the Saudi Pro League, and Inter Miami from the MLS. Inter Miami is listed at +600 and is the least likely to sign him of these 3 clubs, but there has been talks for years about Messi joining Miami in a move to the MLS and it simply has not happened yet as Messi feels like he can still play at a very competitive level. 

This leaves us with only 2 possibilities of where Messi could be headed in the summer and PSG is definitely not one of them as there is no reasonable scenario that would see Messi wearing a PSG kit once again come fall. The only 2 realistic options for Messi to go to this summer would be to either reunite with his former club Barcelona in La Liga, or to ink a deal with Al Hilal Riyadh in the Saudi Pro League, and there is a clear favorite here despite the oddsmakers having both Barcelona and Al Hilal Riyadh listed at -110.

It all started back in December during the 2022 Qatar World Cup when Cristiano Ronaldo was dealing with issues at Manchester United which forced him to leave the club and as a result, he was offered a deal from Al Nassr to play in the Saudi Pro League which he took after Portugal was eliminated from the World Cup. Ronaldo was the 1st piece of the puzzle in a Saudi Pro League looking to expand and create more excitement by attracting some of the world’s biggest stars, and they have done nothing but gain steam since inking that deal with Ronaldo. 

Flash forward to a few weeks ago when a possible future with PSG was ruled out once and for all as PSG handed Messi a suspension for an unauthorized trip to Saudi Arabia to talk with the club Al Hilal Riyadh. It is very clear by now that Al Hilal Riyadh is the clear favorite to get the World Cup winning star this summer and the books tend to agree with their line movement that has been very telling. 

Back in January after Ronaldo signed with Al Nassr, the books still did not take this club seriously as Al Hilal Riyadh was listed as a +800 to land Messi in the summer. Then, just a few weeks ago before receiving his suspension, the odds had moved down to +300 for him to sign with the Saudi club. Now we are at the end of the European seasons after Messi was handed his suspension from PSG and the odds have Al Hilal Riyadh listed at -110 with Barcelona when Barcelona was -200 just a few weeks ago. 

Lionel Messi’s transfer to the Saudi Pro League has been doing nothing but gaining steam over the last few months and at this point in time, it pretty much feels inevitable that he is going to sign with Al Hilal Riyadh come fall. 

At first glance, the possibility of Messi reuniting with Barcelona seems like the most reasonable avenue for him to go, but in reality, there are a lot of complications that are preventing this from happening, leading to Al Hilal Riyadh being the move that makes the most sense. 

Barcelona recently got themselves caught up in a lot of financial issues this year and after all of the signings they made last summer, but were already unable to register all of their players, they now find themselves over 200 million Euros above what their payroll should be for next season. Finding the money to pay off the outstanding balance will be no easy task though as they must pay that down just to get to their max payroll and will still have to sell players after that to be able to buy once again. All of their transactions are also going to be under a microscope after La Liga launched a corruption investigation on Barcelona’s finances this past year. 

Furthermore, Messi is at the backend of his career and as much as he still wants to play competitively in Champions League, he is also more focused on enjoying the game with his friends which is why he put in a request to Barcelona to sign his World Cup teammates, both Angel Di Maria and Leandro Paredes, which complicates things even more as Bracelona will barely have the money to sign Messi let alone 2 of his friends. 

Another issue that Messi is dealing with is the fact that he may get no say at all in where he goes as his father is his agent and his father is a man that is very driven by money. Al Hilal Riyadh has made such a lucrative offer that the financially unstable Barcelona will never be able to match and that might just be enough to tip his father in the direction of the Saudi Pro League.

This also makes more sense as Al Hilal Riyadh has a lot more money to spend and would have no issues signing both Messi and di Maria, as well as also signing Messi’s good friend and former Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets who is set to leave Barcelona this summer. 

Let’s get something straight here, Messi will not be going to the Saudi Pro League to play with Ronaldo, he will be going to play against Ronaldo and revive their old La Liga rivalry there. For the Saudi Pro League, this could be a very exciting time for viewers as bigger stars come to the league and try to grow the league even more.

As for the rest of the world, the change does not really have a massive impact on the big clubs in Europe. Both Messi and Ronaldo have had such great careers and as good as both players still are, neither player is going to have the massive impact on a team that they would have had a few years ago. Seeing the departure of Messi and Ronaldo from Europe could also be a positive as it sets the stage for younger stars to make their way through such as Mbappe, Haaland, and Rashford just to name a few.

In conclusion, a move to the Saudi Pro League can only be good for the world of football and it is the move that by far makes the most sense for Messi so expect to see Lionel Messi in an Al Hilal Riyadh kit come this fall.