By Sam Wallace, Jason Burt, Tom Morgan and Mike McGrath
The Saudi Arabian government is preparing the most lucrative salary deal in the history of football to bring Lionel Messi to its Saudi Pro League this summer, Telegraph Sport understands.
Talks with Messi’s representatives, led by his father Jorge, are under way for when the player becomes a free agent at the end of June upon the expiration of his Paris Saint-Germain contract. There are discussions that the whole package could be worth US$400 million annually ($600m) that would exceed even the $310 million that Cristiano Ronaldo is being paid annually to play in Saudi Arabia until the summer of 2025.
The conventional process for signing the world’s top talent, as with Ronaldo in December, has been for the deal to have state involvement before a final destination club is decided.
The Saudi government has recruited the former Manchester City chief executive Garry Cook, who was in charge of the club when that club’s Abu Dhabi takeover was completed in 2008, in a similar position in the Saudi Pro League. It is anticipated that he will be involved in any discussions to secure Messi’s signature.
A PSG contract offer has been on the table since January to extend Messi’s stay in the French capital for another 12 months but there is now no expectation that it will be signed.
Ronaldo joined Al-Nassr, currently second in the league behind leaders Al-Ittihad. Al-Nassr’s traditional rivals are Al-Hilal and placing Messi with that club, historically the nation’s most successful, would recreate the rivalry the pair had for nine years with Real Madrid and Barcelona. Al-Hilal won the Asian Champions League equivalent in 2021, their fourth title in that competition.
Lionel Messi is not expected to turn out in PSG colours again.Credit: AP
The Messi project combined with Ronaldo’s impact so far in Saudi Arabia – which has been considered a success by the Saudi authorities, is expected to secure the country’s status as a final-club destination for the world’s biggest names. The development of the game has been fast-tracked by Saudi Arabia’s ruling power Mohammed bin Salman under the crown prince’s Vision 2030 plan to place sport at the heart of the country’s modernising plan.
Messi is already the highest-profile “ambassador” for the Saudi Tourism Authority (STA), with another major publicity push this week having come at the cost of upsetting PSG. The club have fined their most famous player two weeks wages and suspended him for the same period for travelling to Saudi Arabia this week without permission, to honour his commitments to his STA contract.
PSG’s decision to discipline Messi following the 3-1 defeat to Lorient was not taken lightly. The player’s requests to visit Saudi Arabia were turned down so when he flew to Riyadh on his private jet it was treated as a breach of his contract. When Messi then did not turn up for training on Monday PSG wanted to take a stand although they have not made a formal statement on the matter to avoid inflaming the situation further.
The 16-club Saudi Pro League runs on the same August to May cycle as European competitions. Saudi ministers are delighted by the impact the Ronaldo signing has had on its population. Saudi Pro League attendances have almost doubled year-on-year and conversation about the league on social media among women and girls since his arrival are up 237 per cent, according to official figures seen by Telegraph Sport.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to the kingdom has been hailed a success.Credit: AP
The 1000-word STA press release sent to media on Wednesday to accompany the Messi family’s trip to Saudi underlined just how important the world’s greatest footballer is to the rebranding of the kingdom, which is a contender to host the World Cup finals in 2030.
Not only did it detail the Saudi sightseeing itinerary of the man himself – “he was enchanted by his encounter with a white falcon that rested on his arm” – but also that of his wife Antonella Roccuzzo. She was described as having worn a traditional Saudi hama, “a decorative headpiece historically worn by women from the kingdom’s Najdi region”.
The Messi family brand is now a powerful bolt-on to the global reputation of the player himself, at 35 still capable of being the decisive player in Argentina’s World Cup triumph in Doha.
Lionel Messi capped his remarkable career with Argentina’s third World Cup triumph in Qatar in December.Credit: AP
His connections with Saudi are well-established. Messi played for Barcelona in Jeddah in January 2020 in the Spanish Super Cup, a three-year deal worth £102 million ($192m) to the Spanish football federation. In November 2019, Riyadh hosted a friendly between Argentina and Brazil when Messi met Turki Al-Sheikh, the chairman of the country’s “general entertainment authority”.
The Saudi government declined to comment. Representatives of Leo Messi Management also declined to comment.
Telegraph, London
Haaland breaks Premier League scoring record as City march on
James Robson and Lori Ewing
A new Premier League goals record for Erling Haaland and three more points for title-chasing Manchester City.
Erling Haaland scored his 35th Premier League goal of the season to help City back to the top of the pile.Credit: Getty
The Norway striker has scored 35 times in his first season playing in English football’s top division — surpassing the previous single-season record that was jointly held by Alan Shearer and Andy Cole before Haaland tied with them at the weekend.
Haaland still has five more games to add to his remarkable total.
While the Golden Boot for the country’s leading scorer is certain to come his way, bigger prizes are also in sight, with City edging closer to a third-straight title after a 3-0 win against West Ham.
Haaland’s goal in the 70th-minute put City 2-0 up after Nathan Ake had opened the scoring in the 50th.
Substitute Phil Foden added a third with a deflected effort in the 85th.
The win moved City back to the top of the table, a point above Arsenal, who had gone to the summit after a 3-1 win against Chelsea on Tuesday.
Pep Guardiola’s defending champions also have a game in hand on their title rival.
While West Ham frustrated City for 45 minutes, the home team made it nine straight wins in the league and extended its unbeaten run in all competitions to 19 games.
Haaland’s mark is honoured at Etihad Stadium.Credit: Getty
“It’s a special night and a special moment. I’m really happy and proud. I don’t know what else to say,” Haaland told Sky Sports. “I knew about the record, of course, but we tried to create chances to score and it wasn’t easy because they wanted to defend. We struggled in the first half but they eventually came.”
The City players formed a guard of honour after the game at the Etihad Stadium, enthusiastically patting Haaland on the head as he ran through in celebration.
His dad Alfie Haaland, who also played for City, watched from one of the boxes with a wide smile and accepted congratulatory handshakes from everyone around him.
“He deserved (the honour guard),” Guardiola said. “All the team deserved it, because without the team he couldn’t do it, but he’s a special striker. We are very pleased for him, because he’s a joy, not just to work with him, (as) manager, I think everyone is happy to have him with us. To overcome Andy Cole and Alan Shearer — incredible top, top strikers, it’s special.”
Both Shearer and Cole set their tallies in 42-game seasons.
AP, Reuters
