RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – JANUARY 03: Cristiano Ronaldo attends a press conference during the official unveiling of Cristiano Ronaldo as an Al Nassr player at Mrsool Park Stadium on January 3, 2023 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)
Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images
Having successfully recruited the great Cristiano Ronaldo to their ranks, the Saudi Arabian soccer league has its eyes set on bringing another global superstar into the fold.
According to ESPN, the Saudi Professional League (SPL) is interested in trying to recruit Lionel Messi to join their league. Messi’s contract at current club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) is up at the end of this season and the SPL hopes to recruit him.
That isn’t to say that the Qatari-owned PSG brass won’t be able to bring Messi back. Messi has a player option to stay for an extra year, but PSG can also give him a brand new contract to ward off lucrative offers from their SPL rivals.
It’s worth pointing out that unlike PSG and other European clubs, the SPL doesn’t play in the Champions League – a potential turnoff for Messi who has been chasing a fifth Champions League title for eight years now.
Lionel Messi finally won a World Cup at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, cementing himself as one of the greatest global athletes in history. But at 35 years old, it may very well have been his last World Cup.
Messi doesn’t have many things left to accomplish even if he still wants a fifth Champions League title or an extra Ballon d’Or.
If he wants one final mega payday to give his family intergenerational wealth, Saudi Arabia would be more than happy to give it to him in a much less competitive environment.
Will Lionel Messi be the next global superstar to sign with the Saudi Professional League?
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