Three Conditions PSG Must Meet to Keep Lionel Messi After Champions League Exit

Three Conditions PSG Must Meet to Keep Lionel Messi After Champions League Exit

Chukwu Ikechukwu
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:27 PM
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  • Paris Saint-Germain and Lionel Messi have been at the negotiating table for over a new deal
  • Messi wants assurances from PSG before extending his contract with the Ligue 1 champion
  • The 35-year-old is eligible to leave for free at the end of the season when his deal is finished

Lionel Messi is considering his future at Paris Saint-Germain after yet another disappointing campaign with the French giants in Europe.

PSG were dumped out of the UEFA Champions League in the round of 16 for the second consecutive season after losing 3-0 to Bayern Munich on aggregate.

Lionel Messi, Paris Saint-Germain, PSG, UEFA Champions League, Kylian Mbappe
Lionel Messi's current deal with PSG runs out at the end of the season but the Ligue 1 champions are keen for him to extend his stay in Paris. Photo by Picture Alliance.
Source: Getty Images

The result, in addition to being disappointing, could determine the future of Messi at the club after he was brought in to deliver the elusive European crown to the Parisians.

The Argentine penned a two-year contract when he joined PSG in 2021 and the 35-year-old forward is reportedly negotiating an extension to his deal in the French capital.

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With PSG’s latest Champions League disaster, Sports Brief takes a look at the conditions they will likely need to meet to convince Messi to sign a new contract.

PSG must remain competitive

PSG’s Champions League exit could have many spinoffs for the French champions, one of them being the possible departures of top stars like Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.

According to Goal, the Ligue 1 club remains Messi's preferred destination for next season but he will apparently only consider staying if PSG keeps their top stars.

Mbappe has been strongly linked with a summer exit, with Real Madrid interested in the Frenchman and PSG also considering offloading Neymar amid further injury woes.

PSG must avoid FFP sanctions

PSG is not new to getting hit with Financial Fair Play sanctions. The Ligue 1 club was one of eight teams punished by UEFA for breaching the rules in September 2022, the BBC reported.

Les Parisiens were ordered to pay an unconditional €10 million for not complying with 'break-even' rules and could pay as much as €65 mil depending on future compliance.

Messi would want guarantees that the club would avoid further breaches of FFP regulations, by staying away from any act which could force UEFA to clamp down on the French club.

PSG must meet financial demands

PSG recently offered Mbappe the biggest contract in Europe when the Frenchman penned a new three-year deal with the Ligue 1 champions.

According to Marca, Messi currently earns €41 mil after taxes with PSG, including a percentage paid in cryptocurrencies and a loyalty bonus.

Unlike Mbappe, who was paid €180 mil to renew his deal until 2025, the Argentine did not receive any signing bonus.

Messi would certainly hope for a better deal with PSG although it was reported he did not expect to earn as much as his French teammate.

Football fans troll Lionel Messi

Sports Brief also reported on Messi coming under intense backlash following PSG's exit from the Champions League knockout phase.

The Parisians suffered back-to-back round-of-16 eliminations from the competition after suffering a 3-0 aggregate loss to Bayern Munich.

Despite inspiring Argentina to World Cup success only months earlier, Messi has been unable to translate this to success with the Parisians.

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Chukwu Ikechukwu
Chukwu Ikechukwu Godwin is a journalist with over 9 years of experience in the Nigerian media industry. He has worked both in Radio (Today FM, Rhythm FM, Wish FM) and Television (Silverbird TV) as a Sports Analyst..
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