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Lionel Messi is now in a similar situation to Cristiano Ronaldo as he looks to stay in Europe
What a crazy 48 hours it’s been for Lionel Messi and PSG. To start with, the incident that really sparked all this was Messi’s unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia. PSG had just lost 3-1 at home to Lorient as what is really turning out to be a poor season continued. The players were informed in the dressing room after the game that instead of having a couple of days off as they might normally have, there would be no break and they were expected to report for training on Monday morning. Messi was part of the team that got beaten by Lorient, but on Monday he wasn’t in training and that’s when PSG realised there was a problem, and it quickly transpired that he was in Saudi Arabia, which was not well received by the club at all.
A decision was then taken at the very top, with Nasser Al-Khelaifi being keen to set an example and make it clear he had a zero-tolerance policy for this kind of behaviour. Messi was then suspended for a two-week period, heavily fined, and barred even from attending training sessions or using any of PSG’s facilities during that period.
On his future, PSG put a contract offer on the table for Messi a few months ago. To be clear, this hasn’t been taken off the table, but equally there has been no response, either a clear yes or a clear no from Messi or his entourage. It is now expected that there won’t be any movement from either side, and the situation now is that it’s widely expected that Messi’s contract will just tick down and expire at the end of June.
There’s been plenty of speculation in the last few months about where his future might lie, with links to Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia. There’s been a denial, however, on Messi’s side, that the problematic trip to Saudi Arabia was anything to do with his future; it was simply a commercial contract that he was obliged to honour.
There’s interest as well from Messi’s former club Barcelona, but they are mired in Financial Fair Play problems. Inter Miami are also interested, and a lot of people in and around the MLS club are talking up their chances of landing Messi at some point in the near future. However, my information is that any move there would likely not be immediate, with Messi keen to stay in Europe and keep on playing in the Champions League for another season or two. His form pre-World Cup with PSG suggests he’s still at the level to do so, but we’ll have to see if this latest incident with PSG changes things.
The problem is, similarly with Cristiano Ronaldo before he joined Al-Nassr, there has to be interest from a European club who can offer Messi what he wants. Unless Barcelona make some massive changes in order to accommodate their former player, it’s going to be impossible to bring him back. At this moment in time, there are massive question-marks over Messi’s future and it’s realistic to question, at this moment in time, if this might be the end of his career in Europe. Barcelona are the only European club being firm in their interest, outside of the contract offer from PSG, which is unlikely to be actioned by either the club or the player.
It’s a tricky situation. It may come as a surprise to some, but there’s genuinely not a lot of chatter about interest from Premier League clubs. We know that Pep Guardiola is a huge fan of his, but it’s hard to realistically see Manchester City wanting to accommodate a 36-year-old Messi. A lot of Premier League clubs’ recruitment now focuses on younger players who can offer value in the future, and it’s clear there’s no future sale value in Messi – you might get a good year or two out of him, at the absolute best, but personally I think the rigours of Premier League football, two domestic cups, and the Champions League, would be very difficult for Messi to sustain at this stage in his career. It’s already been tricky enough for him to transition from La Liga to Ligue 1, which is not dissimilar to the Premier League in terms of physicality.
Obviously in terms of finances, a deal for Messi could be possible for a number of English clubs, but I’m not currently aware of any of them taking a look at Messi, they’re looking for much younger talent. So I think Messi could find himself in a similar situation to Ronaldo, with offers coming in from clubs in the Champions League, but not necessarily ones of the stature that he would want for himself.
Overall, I don’t think Messi’s time at PSG can go down as a success. The club might argue that it’s been good for them commercially, but if you look at what’s happened on the pitch, it’s not been a success at all. Obviously there have been other issues with PSG and they’ve not been where they want to be for a few years now, and that’s spanned the entire time Messi’s been at the club, but he’s been a disappointment. He had a season to forget last year, and though he started this season a lot better, his form has tailed off in the second half of the campaign since the World Cup, and he’s just never looked like the Messi we saw at Barcelona.
It’s hard to look at this as anything but a failure – Messi hasn’t been up to the task of taking PSG forwards, and the fans have now made their feelings clear with protests in the last 24 hours. He’s not the only one, of course, some of PSG’s ultras also went to Neymar’s home, and his name along with Nasser Al-Khelaifi and Marco Verratti was chanted outside PSG’s offices. I think this sums up the strength of feeling from PSG’s fans towards this current squad, which has been lavishly assembled, but which is a laughing stock in many ways, because of their failure to be competitive in the Champions League and even in their own domestic league – they might win an 11th Ligue 1 title this season but they’re making a meal of it and the whole squad just isn’t in the best shape right now.
Achraf Hakimi sale can’t be entirely ruled out
Away from Messi, I’m aware there’s also been some speculation about Achraf Hakimi’s future at PSG. The likes of Manchester United and Chelsea have been linked, but before we delve into the player’s situation in terms of his performances on the pitch and a potential summer move, it’s important to remember that this is a player who, at this moment in time, is being investigate for sexual assault claims made against him. Depending on how that develops, that could be a factor that PSG consider should there by any substantial offers coming in for him this summer.
In terms of the player and his role in PSG’s squad for what he brings on the pitch, the Morocco international certainly wouldn’t be anywhere near the top of any list of players the club look to offload as part of a reshuffle of their squad this summer. Then again, it’s also worth bearing in mind that there aren’t too many other players in this PSG squad at this moment in time who would command the kind of transfer fee that Hakimi could, especially if he were to move to a Premier League club. Gianluigi Donnarumma is probably the only other one who’d attract a substantial bid, but he hasn’t had the best of seasons.
If a serious offer came in for Hakimi, it might be something PSG have to think about. We know they’re going to be adding Milan Skriniar to their squad as he prepares to join on a free transfer from Inter Milan, so they do have to think about their wage bill. PSG to have a need to boost the coffers a bit and keep Financial Fair Play in mind, and Messi’s likely departure will help in that respect, but it does mean Hakimi is one of those where there could be scope for a deal if an offer came in that was similar to what PSG paid Inter for him.
This wouldn’t necessarily be smart for squad harmony, though; we know that Kylian Mbappe is sort of seen as the head of the squad and he is very close to Hakimi, so those kinds of personal relationships need to be taken into consideration by the club as well.
Chelsea were interested in Hakimi in the same summer he moved to the Parc des Princes, but I haven’t heard anything concrete since then. Chelsea have been linked with pretty much every player in Europe under Todd Boehly, so Hakimi’s name makes sense as one to crop up. PSG won the race for him in 2021, but it’s possible that Chelsea could revisit their interest, even if it’s hard to imagine he’d accept a move to a club who not only look set to miss out on Champions League football but who also might not be in Europe at all next season.
Randal Kolo Muani ticks a lot of boxes for PSG but it may be financially beyond them
There’s been some talk of Kylian Mbappe speaking to his French international teammate Randal Kolo Muani about joining him at PSG, but the issue here is that it’s going to be difficult to justify paying the kind of money required for the Eintracht Frankfurt striker, given that he left Nantes on a free fairly recently.
Kolo Muani has been superb in the Bundesliga and he’s probably now worth in excess of €100million, while there’s likely to be a lot of other interest in him. Bayern Munich are one club to watch as they look for that kind of striker, while we’ve also heard some whispers about Manchester United.
PSG do need a centre-forward of that profile, though, and it helps that Kolo Muani is from the Paris region as they look to ‘Frenchify’ their squad, so to speak. Still, I’d find it hard to imagine PSG piling all that money into someone like Kolo Muani when a similar player in Marcus Thuram is set to become available as a free agent; they’re not exactly the same kind of player but he’d be another good option and another French talent who could offer a solution in that position.
With Messi looking like leaving, it could be that we’ll see PSG’s attack resemble something a bit more like what we see with the French national team, where Mbappe plays alongside someone who is more of a focal point in the attack. With Les Bleus, it’s Olivier Giroud up front with him, but Kolo Muani ticks that box as well, as would Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, though these are all highly pricey transfers, which would prohibit PSG from strengthening in other positions. Unfortunately for PSG and the state of their current squad, that’s not a luxury they can afford as an overhaul in other positions is also sorely needed this summer.
Kevin Danso is a Ligue 1 talent to watch this summer
There’s a lot of interest in Kevin Danso ahead of this summer because of the situation at Lens, who have had a fine season and find themselves in contention for a Champions League place, whilst even looking like title challengers alongside PSG and Marseille at one point.
Obviously Danso has history in the Premier League after going on loan to Southampton a few years ago, following spells with MK Dons and Reading in his youth days, so it’s natural that his name has come up on the radar. He’s been a really consistent performer with Lens and has had a key role in what is quite an underrated team.
There has been a lot of speculation about the Austria international moving away this summer, with most of the strongest links coming from the top Italian clubs, so that could be one to watch. He’s got a bit of history in the Bundesliga as well, with Augsburg and a loan spell at Dusseldorf, but I think if Lens get Champions League qualification over the line, I can see him staying with them for one more year and experiencing playing at the top level in Europe. That might not be the worst idea for him, but equally if a big offer were to come in for him from the Premier League, it could give Lens the opportunity to bolster other areas of their squad. As great as this fairytale season has been for everyone involved at Lens, they clearly will need reinforcements next season because French clubs traditionally struggle to balance domestic and European responsibilities, and I don’t think Lens would be any different.
Should the offer be big enough, I think Lens would consider letting Danso go and see an opportunity to do smart business elsewhere, so he’s definitely one to watch.
Premier League clubs could edge Jean-Clair Todibo race
Jean-Clair Todibo is definitely a player attracting a lot of interest ahead of the summer transfer window. Let’s not forget, the Nice defender moved to Barcelona at a very young age, so he’s already got some experience of playing at the elite level, and he’s since moved away and developed his game, and he’s come on leaps and bounds since joining Nice.
Todibo is wanted inside and outside of France, he’s been of interest to PSG and I think he’s someone they’ll continue to look at, though he’d come with quite a hefty price tag. I think the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle, his admirers from the Premier League, would probably have an advantage there. Equally, I think any interested club would be in quite a powerful negotiating position given that Nice are unlikely to have any European football next season. Their star names like Todibo and Khephren Thuram are wanted by a lot of top teams and it’ll be very difficult for Nice to persuade those players to pledge their future to the team.
I certainly expect interest in Todibo to grow between now and the end of the season, and he’d be a good fit for a number of Premier League clubs. I think with the view of him looking to break into the French national team, he would benefit from maybe staying in Ligue 1 for a bit longer – he’s taken a bit of time to develop but he’s really coming along now and is starting to look more like the finished product at an elite level, so it’s perhaps slightly too early for him to make the jump to a top, top Premier League team, though that won’t stop them sniffing around this summer.