Lionel Messi has announced that there is a possibility that his next club would be Paris Saint-Germain.
The superstar, however, clarified that his future is not certain.
He said this Barcelona press conference over his future on Sunday.
This is coming three days after financially-strapped Barcelona announced they were unable to keep the superstar who is reportedly close to a move to Paris Saint-Germain.
While answering a question on where he would play next season, Messi says that “PSG is one possibility” for the future, but immediately adds that his future is not yet determined.
“I have nothing confirmed with anyone. There are a lot of clubs interested. At the minute, nothing is closed. We are talking about a lot of things.”
PSG are offering Lionel Messi a two-year contract worth £25m a year, Skysports reports.
They are confident he will sign it this week and Messi’s lawyers are in Paris working on the deal. The contract has an option for a third year.
It will be the start of a long-term relationship between Messi and Qatar as they prepare to host the World Cup finals next year.
PSG believe they can sign Messi without breaking any Financial Fair Play rules because his signing will generate more revenue than he will cost in wages.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta said on Friday he was not prepared “to put the club at risk” by renewing Messi’s contract, as the club face up to huge financial problems ahead of the start of La Liga on August 15.
Laporta said Barcelona were no longer negotiating with Messi and the Argentine forward was considering other offers.
PSG, who bought Neymar from Barcelona for a world-record 222 million euros ($264 million) in 2017, appear favourites to sign Messi according to reports in France.
Significantly, Nasser al-Khelaifi, the president of the Qatar-owned club, and sporting director Leonardo both missed the team’s 2-1 win at Troyes in their Ligue 1 season-opener on Saturday night.
Sports daily L’Equipe also indicated Messi is to receive a three-year “record contract” with “a net annual wage of 40 million euros” — but it appears nothing has been signed.
Funded by a sovereign wealth fund from gas-rich Qatar, PSG is seen as one of the few clubs in the world with deep enough pockets to make a bid for the six-time Ballon d’Or winner.
Messi was pictured earlier this month on holiday with Neymar, plus Argentina teammates Angel di Maria and Leandro Paredes and fellow PSG star Marco Verrati.
