Lionel Messi odds on next team: Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City favored to land superstar after leaving Barcelona
The best soccer player on the planet, Lionel Messi, is now available.
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What kind of NFL bidding war would ensue if Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes hit the free-agent market? Mahomes is the best player in American football, while Argentine Lionel Messi is the best player in world football – i.e. soccer to those of us in the USA – and is now a "free agent" after a contract extension he had agreed to with Spanish La Liga powerhouse Barcelona was voided by a technicality. SportsLine offers odds on Messi's next club team.
Barcelona and Messi had agreed to a five-year contract extension, but Barca was unable to register Messi's new contract while complying with La Liga's financial fair play rules – like the NBA and NFL have salary caps, Spanish teams must comply with an overall spending limit to a percentage of club revenue. That revenue has plummeted since the pandemic started. Barca's losses in the past two years have surpassed more than $500 million.
The 34-year-old Messi's previous contract had expired in late June. He reportedly was earning a whopping $163 million (US) or so per season.
"Despite FC Barcelona and Lionel Messi having reached an agreement and the clear intention of both parties to sign a new contract today, this cannot happen because of financial and structural obstacles (Spanish Liga regulations)," Barcelona said in a statement Thursday. "As a result of this situation, Messi shall not be staying on at FC Barcelona. Both parties deeply regret that the wishes of the player and the club will ultimately not be fulfilled."
Messi, a six-time world player of the year and six-time European Golden Boot winner, asked to leave Barcelona for free at the end of last season but that request was denied by then-president Josep Bartomeu. Joan Laporta took over the presidency and convinced Messi to stay.
It has been the only professional home Messi has ever known, winning 10 La Liga titles (of the club's 26 in history) and four Champions League crowns (Barca had one such title before him) since his 2004 debut with the senior club. Messi's 672 goals with Barcelona are the most with one club in soccer history. Only one other player in Barcelona history had even 200 goals with the club: César Rodríguez with 232.
Messi recently won a major trophy with Argentina for the first time, leading it to the Copa America title. He has previously expressed a desire to move back to his boyhood club Newell's Old Boys to finish his career.
French powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain is the clear favorite to land Messi. State-owned Qatar Sports Investments purchased the team since 2011, with Nasser Al-Khelaïfi serving as chairman and CEO of the club.
English Premier League side Manchester City also has unlimited finances as it is owned by Abu Dhabi United Group, an investment vehicle owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates.
Messi won't make nearly as much in the MLS as Europe, but perhaps America is the last frontier to conquer from a marketing standpoint before heading back to Argentina.
Via SportsLine oddsmakers/composite of European sites: Which will be Lionel Messi's next club?
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This post has been updated to reflect the correct ownership structure of Paris Saint-Germain.