According to a source on MARCA, clubs are lining up to get Messi after Al Nassr grabbed Cristiano Ronaldo. The latest team on the list is Al Ittihad, ready in the money race with Al Hilal to take home the world champion.
Meanwhile, PSG still want to keep Messi at the team, but have yet to agree to a new deal with the striker who won 7 Ballon d’Or. The big club in Paris has an option to renew it Messi’s contract one more season. But for now, the Argentinian is free to negotiate with any club as he has less than six months left on his current contract.
Barcelona and Inter Miami CF in the US Major were also very interested in Messi, but could not meet the offers with huge sums of money like those of Al Hilal and Al Ittihad.
| Two teams Al Hilal and Al Ittihad really want Messi to create a counterbalance to Ronaldo in Al Nassr. Photo: GETTY. |
Former Al Nassr coach Galician Raul Caneda believes that Al Nassr’s signing of Cristiano Ronaldo is just the beginning for wealthy teams in Saudi Arabia. He insists the Middle Eastern country is ready to spend heavily on players and would not be surprised if Lionel Messi is the next target.
“For me, Arab football is equivalent to Turkey. They have great economic power and it is difficult for good players to refuse to go there, because they are all very well paid. I I wouldn’t be surprised if they offered more money to Lionel Messi, or if they invested more money in the most important players in the European leagues.”
Mr. Galician concluded: “The purchase of Cristiano Ronaldo can be a warning because Al Nassr’s opponents will also want to play tit-for-tat with this team. It is clear that in Saudi Arabia, the state wants to covet those players. It’s not going to stop at Ronaldo. The owners have bought the English club Newcastle and want to take their league to the top, putting it on the list of the 10 best championships in the world.”
Before that, Cristiano Ronaldo appeared many conflicts with MU leaders and coach Erik ten Hag from the summer of 2022 until the time the season was about to end the first leg. He refused to go on a pre-season tour, then refused to play against Tottenham.
Things culminated when CR7 revealed many internal issues related to the club in front of the press, and MU officially terminated the contract with the Portuguese player in November last year. He has also officially signed a contract with Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr club.
Ronaldo’s annual salary is equivalent to 200 million euros, but Al Nassr’s rivals are not afraid to pay Messi a huge amount of 350 million euros to balance each other.
Present, Ronaldo is actively practicing to wait for the release date of Al Nassr. It is expected that the 37-year-old striker will play in a friendly match against PSG on January 19 and four days later against Al Ettifaq in the Saudi Arabia professional football championship.