The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is preparing to offer Argentina footballer Lionel Messi, the most lucrative salary deal of USD 400 million (Rs 32,72,18,00,000) annually to move to the Saudi Professional League this summer, the British Telegraph reported.
Discussions are ongoing to determine whether the player will leave PSG when his contract expires at the end of June.
If the deal gets materialized, this would be around twice what was offered to Messi’s rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, when he moved to Saudi club Al Nassr.
Ronaldo penned a record 177 million pounds-a-year deal after Manchester United ripped up his contract.
According to the report by The Telegraph, Messi’s deal is being negotiated by his father Jorge. Messi has been associated with the Saudi club Al-Hilal several times over the past few months.
These reports come in light of the tense relationship between Messi and the management of the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) club.
PSG suspended Messi on Tuesday, for two weeks after he travelled to Saudi Arabia without permission from the organization, according to CNN.
In 2022, Messi was appointed tourism ambassador for Saudi Arabia and was in the Kingdom this week as part of that contract.
Recently, Ahmed Al-Khateeb, the Minister of Tourism for the country, tweeted updated photos of the Argentine.
“We welcome visitors from around the world to experience a unique journey to Saudi Arabia and its hospitality,” he tweeted.
Messi himself recently posted on social media about the country. He captioned an image of some trees, “Who would have thought Saudi Arabia had so much greenery? I love exploring its unexpected wonders whenever I can. #visitaudi.”
