Paris: After Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi appears to get a Gulf visa. With Messi's relationship with Paris Saint-German club turning sour suddenly, Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal is learnt to have come with a massive offer to snatch him.
Messi was suspended by PSG for two weeks for going to visit Saudi Arabia without permission. Incidentally, he is the tourism brand ambassador of Saudi Arabia. Following the suspension, it appears almost certain that Messi will leave the team by the end of the season.
Saudi clubs have been eyeing big stars. Al Nasr has reaped rich with the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo. And now Al Hilal, another big Saudi club, is way ahead in its race for Messi.
The talk of Messi leaving PSG has been in the air for some time. Chances of Messi returning to Barcelona, where he had been playing since his junior days, have also dimmed owing mainly to strict financial curbs imposed on the Spanish league.
It is learnt that Messi's agents are also in talks with major soccer leagues in the US. It was British star David Beckham who initiated the flow of leading players to the US Major League Soccer. Since then, big names like Wayne Rooney and Zlatan Ibrahimovic moved to the US in the final stages of their careers. Club Inter Miami, owned by Beckham, had made public its interest in roping in Messi to its squad. But the reported offer of Al Hilal is said to be much bigger than that of Inter Miami.
Messi had planned a family trip to Saudi Arabia as part of his assignment as ambassador. Though the suspension triggered immediate talks of his leaving PSG, Messi's relationship with the club had been going downhill for quite some time. Messi has scored 15 goals and made 15 assists for PSG this season and has Kylian Mbappe and Neymar as teammates.
