'Messi is Messi' - Al-Khelaifi claims 'all great players want to come to PSG' but won't discuss interest in Barcelona star

PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has said that “all great players” want to join the club, but he has refused to discuss a move regarding Barcelona’s Lionel Messi.

Messi, out of contract with Barcelona, has long been linked with a switch to the Ligue 1 side amid the Catalans’ financial difficulties.

Although the Argentine appears closer to an extension with Barca than ever before in the last year, no deal has yet been concluded and there remains the prospect of a switch to the Parc des Princes club.

What did he say?

“Messi is at the end of his contract and all clubs have the right to talk to him and recruit him for next season,” Al-Khelaifi told L’Equipe. “What I can tell you, and you can believe me, is that all great players want to come to PSG.

“All – just to be clear, I’m not saying that to answer you on Messi. It’s not possible to sign them all, since we have great players too.

“And Messi is Messi, a fantastic player.”

The bigger picture

Messi, meanwhile, will have to take a substantial pay cut regardless of his future destination, but particularly if he stays at Barcelona, where the club is more than a €1 billion in debt.

PSG may be able to offer Messi more terms, but reports suggest he is more interested in the sporting project and having the possibility of winning the Champions League again before he retires.

PSG on Financial Fair Play

Al-Khelaifi noted that Financial Fair Play in its current form is impractical in the midst of the current financial crisis caused by Covid-19.

“Everyone knows that clubs are going to lose money,” he said. “Honestly, with the health crisis, the rules of FFP are untenable. Football around the world has lost around $8 billion.

“FFP should not prevent investment. Do we want people to put money into football or other sports? I want them to invest in our sport.

“We need to change the rules of FFP and UEFA must work on it.”

Further Reading