Will Lionel Messi join Paris Saint-Germain With Top Earners Neymar And Mbappe?

For the first time in his 17-year professional career, Lionel Messi will no longer call Spain home. After a protracted breakup with his prior club, FC Barcelona, Messi is reportedly heading north to join Paris Saint-Germain in France’s Ligue 1 according to ESPN. The deal is said to be two years in length, though the value is undisclosed. However, The Athletic, citing unnamed sources, reports Messi will receive a signing bonus of €25 million and a yearly salary of €25 million, with a third-year option at the same price.

The development comes a day after an emotional Messi confirmed that he is finally parting ways with Barcelona. Messi, who ended his long-standing association with Barca, stated that he has been in talks with French club PSG over a "possible move". Messi, a free agent, hinted at the possibility of joining PSG.

"It is a possibility, but I have not agreed on anything with anyone. I have got different clubs interested. Nothing is definitive but clearly, we are talking to them," he said at the news conference.

Messi has collected more than $1.2 billion in career earnings before taxes, $875 million on the pitch, and $375 million in endorsements, according to Forbes estimates. This year, he was the highest-paid soccer player in the world at $130 million ($97 million in salary and $33 million in endorsements from partners Adidas, Anheuser Busch InBev, Gatorade, Hard Rock Cafe Inc., Jacob & Co, Ooredoo, and Pepsi). And it could have been even higher: Forbes estimates that Messi lost between $25 million and $75 of salary and bonuses to pandemic-related pay cuts over the last two seasons.

He has won 10 La Liga, seven Copa del Rey, seven Spanish Super Cup, four Champions League, three UEFA Super Cup, and three FIFA Club World Cup titles.