Football fans have enjoyed a hectic summer with Italy’s win over England at Wembley in Euro 2020 and the action-packed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The biggest news on planet football during pre-season was, undoubtedly, Lionel Messi’s departure from Barcelona.
The “Little Magician” signed for the La Liga giants in 2003 and went on to make 520 appearances for the senior squad, scoring an astonishing 474 goals. It was thought Messi would play out his career at the Camp Nou before retiring from football, but Barcelona’s recent off-field problems and money worries put paid to that.
European football’s top clubs were placed on high alert when news broke that Messi would be sold this summer, despite the 34-year-old agreeing to slash his wages to help the ailing clubs' cause. A move to Manchester City and the English Premier League to work with Pep Guardiola was favourite, but Paris was the destination.
PSG spend big to get their man
Messi signed a two-year deal at PSG in August, and the player has an option of extending for another 12 months. The contract could take him to 37 years old and, more than likely, retirement. Newspaper reports explain the finer details of the transfer with the Parisians paying their new man close to what he was on at Barca, where the Catalonian club spent £125m a year for the privilege of having the greatest player of the modern era on their books. The club’s backers will hope to claw back some of that outlay in shirt deals, sponsors and prize money they’ll be hoping to rake in on the back of this blockbuster signing.
Messi left Barcelona with a heavy heart but knew the club’s current situation meant they were unable to afford his wages and Spanish laws meant he wasn’t able to take the necessary cut of more than 50% to continue. The attacker was eager to begin this new chapter and told the world’s media that gathered in France to announce his arrival that he believes his star-studded new employers can win the Champions League. Lifting the most famous trophy in club football one more time remains an ambition of Messi’s, and he certainly appears to be in the right kind of company to do that.
The PSG board shared his optimism with club president Nasser al-Khelaifi who spoke of his pride at finally getting the deal over the line. With Messi joining an already multi-talented team and great coaching staff, the president added that he was looking forward to watching the club make history this season.
New Champions League favourites
Traders at all major bookmakers reacted instantly to the news that Messi would be joining PSG and have made the French club their new betting favourites to win this season’s Champions League. Manchester City were the previous solid market leaders, but that has changed with PSG at the head of the pile and the Cityzens second in line.
The deal has had a knock-on effect, and Barcelona has dropped down the list to win the Champions League and is also as low as third in line to win La Liga. FCB had a difficult season ahead as it was, attempting to sell players and balance the books, but a tough job was made even tougher with Messi’s departure.
Other teams backed in the antepost betting list that could challenge PSG include Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Juventus, Manchester United, Liverpool and the two Milan teams. A competitive campaign lies ahead, and football fans can’t wait to get started. Will they have what it takes to stop an attack that includes Mbappe, Neymar and now Messi?
