Reason Why Ex PSG Star Advises Ligue 1 Champions Not to Renew Lionel Messi’s Contract

• Jerome Rothen has urged Paris Saint-Germain not to renew the contract of Lionel Messi
• Messi is in contract talks with PSG as his current deal expires at the end of the season
• Barcelona, Inter Miami and Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia are pushing to sign the 35-year-old as a free agent

Lionel Messi and Paris Saint-Germain are presently on the negotiating table for a contract renewal, but that idea is not being backed up by the club’s former player Jerome Rothen.

Messi’s current deal with the Ligue 1 champions expires in the summer and PSG are looking to extend the 35-year-old’s contract as soon as possible.

According to Sportskeeda, Rothen sighted financial fair play (FFP) as a reason and believes PSG should instead let Messi go so as to use his huge wage bill to improve the rest of the squad.

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“After that, there is the wage bill. And we saw that PSG is blocked with the financial fair play. Because the wage bill has exploded.

“There, you have the opportunity to recover a large amount of money because the salary of Messi is substantial. It can allow you to recruit and improve your squad. For all that, it's a very bad idea to extend Leo Messi.”

PSG does have the option to trigger a one-year extension on Messi’s contract, but the Ligue 1 champions are keen on having the Argentine secured for longer.

PSG breaks FFP rules

Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain have fallen short of financial fair play rules in time past as the Ligue 1 champions had been sanctioned by UEFA in September 2022, BBC reports.

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PSG were ordered to pay an unconditional €10m for not complying with "break-even" rules and could pay as much as €65m depending on future compliance.

The break-even requirement is where clubs are ordered to not spend more than the income that they generate, and they must balance their books over the course of three years.

Messi rejects PSG’s new contract

Earlier, Sports Brief reported there is trouble in paradise at Paris Saint-Germain, as Lionel Messi is reportedly set to part ways with the French giants at the end of the 2022/23 season.

The 35-year-old forward’s current deal with PSG runs out at the end of the season, but so far, the Ligue 1 giants have apparently failed to convince him to pen a new deal.

Winning the FIFA World Cup with Argentina in December has made Messi consider his options regarding his future with PSG.