PSG considering ‘NOT renewing Lionel Messi’s £740,000-a-week contract and looking to cut costs over FFP concerns’
PSG are reportedly considering NOT renewing Lionel Messi’s contract.
The Ligue 1 giants are believed to be aiming to cut costs over concerns of breaching Financial Fair Play rules.
PSG were hit with FFP sanctions last year and were fined £8.6million, while £56.3m is on the line depending on the club’s future compliance with the rules.
Therefore the club are keen to reduce their wage bill with Messi’s £740,000-per-week deal on the chopping block, according to L’Equipe.
The French outlet suggests that should the World Cup winner, 35, be released by PSG then clubs in Saudi Arabia will offer him lucrative deals.
Former Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos, 37, is another whose future is under question as his contract – like Messi’s – expires at the end of the current season.
Ex-France international Jerome Rothen recently said that Messi’s salary is too high, and shifting him off the books could allow PSG to spread their investment across the squad.
Rothen also slammed Messi for failing to engage with fans.
He says the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner “never thanks the fans, he lowers his head and goes to the dressing room”.
Speaking to RMC Sport, Rothen said: “Messi’s renewal is a joke.
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“Managing Messi, Neymar and Mbappe is complicated. On top of that, his salary is very high.
“I see PSG trapped in financial fair play because what they have to pay in wages has exploded.
“Now they will have the opportunity to recover a huge sum with Messi’s salary, this could allow them to hire and improve the squad.
“For all that, it’s a bad idea to renew with Messi.”
Messi has also stirred interest from MLS side Inter Miami as well as his former club Barcelona.
Messi, who won the World Cup with Argentina in December, has scored 18 goals in 32 appearances for PSG so far this season.