Paris Saint-Germain are now 1/20 favourites to sign Lionel Messi after the Argentine legend gave a tearful news conference to confirm his Barcelona departure.
Barca confirmed Messi's two-decade stay would end on Thursday after “financial and structural obstacles” prevented him from signing a new deal.
Both parties have insisted both they and Messi were willing to extend his stay, but claim La Liga regulations made that impossible.
At an emotional news conference on Sunday, Messi revealed he expected to stay right up until the last moment.
Lionel Messi next club odds (via Sky Bet)
- PSG - 1/20
- Barcelona - 8/1
- Chelsea, Manchester City - 20/1
Odds correct at 1155 BST (08/08/21)
“I did everything possible and the club, [club president] Joan Laporta, they couldn’t do it because of LaLiga," Messi explained.
“I’ve heard things said about me, that I didn’t want to continue, but on my life, we did everything we could because I wanted to stay.
“Last year, I didn’t want to stay and I said it; this year, I wanted to stay and we couldn’t.”
The 34-year-old has been heavily linked with a move to PSG ever since his near departure last summer, when the six-time Ballon d'Or winner told Barca he wanted to leave, with his camp believing he was able to do so on a free transfer.
But he remained for 2020/21 when it emerged he was in fact subject to a €700m (£629m) buy-out clause during the final year of his deal.
❤️💙 Lionel Messi couldn't hold back the years after bidding farewell to Barcelona.
— Sporting Life Football & Infogol (@InfogolApp) August 8, 2021
🏟 778 games
⚽️ 672 goals
🤯 0.86 goals per game
🎩 48 hat-tricks
👌 305 assists
🏆 34 trophies overall
🏆 6x Ballon d'Or
🔝 8x La Liga Top Scorer
🤩 7x Best Player in Spain
With that due to expire, Messi then agreed a 50% wage-cut to remain in Catalonia, only for a last-minute hitch to scupper the deal.
PSG now appears the most likely next destination, and while he confirmed that joining the French club was possible, he insisted nothing was signed.
“That’s honestly one possibility, to reach those heights, but I’ve got nothing confirmed with anybody," said Messi.
“When the press release was published, I had a lot of calls and a lot of clubs were interested. At the moment, I’ve not got anything closed, but we are talking about a lot of things.”
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