Bidding adieu to his long-term association with Barcelona, football superstar Lionel Messi joined Paris Saint-German (PSG). The announcement of the signed contract was made on Tuesday, giving new wings and heightened potential to the PSG.
The football club declared last night that the 34-year-old will be bearing the number 30, which he remained his identity during his early days at Barca. The contract is for 2 years with an option for extension for upto a year.
Speaking about the new journey of his life, Messi said, “I am excited to begin a new chapter of my career at Paris Saint-Germain.” He praised the management and trainers of the PSG and expressed his desire to take the club to the next level.
“Everything about the club matches my football ambitions. I know how talented the squad and the coaching staff are here. I am determined to help build something special for the club and the fans, and I am looking forward to stepping out onto the pitch at the Parc des Princes,” he added.
Though details of his remuneration weren’t disclosed, a source close to the development of the matter said before the contract was signed that Messi is going to earn around 35 million euros net.
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Chairman of the club, Nasser Al-Khelaifi said he is delighted to have Messi on onboard and PSG is “proud to welcome him and his family to Paris.”
“He has made no secret of his desire to continue competing at the very highest level and winning trophies, and naturally our ambition as a club is to do the same,” Mr Nasser said.
Thousands of fans were gathered to welcome Messi to Paris holding placards and wearing T-shirts bearing “This is Paris” text to express their happiness. The congregation is slated to cheer for him in the match against Strasbourg on Saturday.
The mighty fan base of Messi was witnessed on Tuesday as the police had to be involved and push the herd back that got excited seeing their favourite celebrity.
Messi, who was travelling with his wife and three children, reached Paris on a private jet and waved to his fans before leaving with a trail of security.
His wife, Antonela Roccuzzo, took to Instagram to post a picture with her husband on the flight, “With it all, toward a new adventure. The five together,” she captioned.
The club he joined as a 13-year-old had to let go of Messi as they could not afford to keep the six-time world player of the year, being over 1.2 billion euros in debt already. PSG remained one of the few clubs that had the financial power to bring Messi to their players’ list.
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In PSG, he was welcomed by Brazil forward Neymar who posted a video of him hugging Messi during their Barcelona days. “Back together”, he captioned the video.
While the PSG had to shell out 222 million euros to transfer Neymar to their club from Barca, Messi came to them with zero transfer fees.
