Lionel Messi is finally moving on from FC Barcelona, and he issued an emotional goodbye after the two sides couldn't come to terms on a new contract under La Liga rules.
According to ESPN’s Sam Marsden and Julien Laurens, Messi has already agreed to a deal with Paris Saint-Germain, but he just mentioned it as a possibility during his press conference.
"[PSG] is one possibility," Messi said. "There's nothing closed at the moment, but we're talking about a lot of things. After Barca's statement, a lot of clubs showed an interest. There's nothing final but, of course, there are talks."
Asked about the prospect of joining a rival, he added: "There is no doubt that I will go to a team that will compete with Barca. I didn't want to leave, but I have to. And I want to keep winning. That's my mentality. I want to win."
PSG would be loaded if it added Messi, as Neymar and Kylian Mbappe already headline a star-studded roster. With the Messi rumors swirling, PSG is now the +300 favorite to win the Champions League with Manchester City a close second at +350 odds.
FC Barcelona was unable to keep Messi after La Liga dropped the spending cap from €600 million in 2019-20 to an expected €200m for the coming season. Messi, who was expected to make around €70m gross without bonuses, would have caused FC Barcelona to be at 110 percent over its revenue for the coming season.
"I am really sad because I didn't want to leave because this is the club I love," Messi said. "I didn't expect this. I have never lied; I have always been honest and upfront. Last year I wanted to leave; this year I didn't. That's why I am so sad.
Breaking: Lionel Messi has agreed in principle to a 2-year deal with PSG and will travel to Paris today for a physical, sources tell ESPN.
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 8, 2021
The deal includes an option for a third year, and will be announced at the Eiffel Tower in the coming days, according to ESPN sources. pic.twitter.com/9qnI0VFje8
"As the president [Joan Laporta] has explained, the club has debt [problems]. It's not possible. Why keep drawing it out if it's nearly impossible? The talks stopped as Barca did not want to go on, they knew LaLiga would not let it happen, it was impossible.
"I did everything I could to stay and it wasn't possible. I offered to reduce my salary by 50% and Barca didn't ask for anything else. They didn't ask for another 30%; that's a lie."
Barcelona is still second on the odds list to win the Primera Division of La Liga at +225, but Real Madrid is now a +110 favorite.
In his career for FC Barcelona, Messi registered 672 goals in 778 games, the most goals and appearances in the club’s history.
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