Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser al-Khelaifi has admitted that talks are ongoing with Lionel Messi amid reports over a move to Inter Miami.
The Argentine superstar is currently in the final year of his contract at the Parc des Princes having joined on a free transfer from Barcelona in 2021. They have been keen to keep him in the French capital due to his stunning form this season but their hopes of keeping him are under threat.
Former club Barcelona have regularly expressed their interest in bringing him back to the Camp Nou in the near future. In the meantime, David Beckham ’s MLS franchise Inter Miami have been linked with a swoop for the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner.
Previous reports suggested that he was close to agreeing a deal to move to the United States and would become the highest-paid player in league history. However, al-Khelaifi has admitted that discussions between PSG and Messi’s representatives over an extended deal are still ongoing but he is currently unsure of what will transpire.
As quoted by The Times, he said: “We are talking to him. We will see what can happen.”
Messi’s representatives have already weighed in over the Argentine’s potential future and talks over a switch to Miami. Speaking to CNN, Marcelo Mendez insisted that Messi was not in talks with the MLS outfit, despite reports to the contrary. “It’s false, it’s fake news," Mendez said. "There is no negotiation for Lionel to join Inter Miami next season."
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Whilst it remains to be seen what Messi will decide to do in the immediate future - the Argentine instead preferring to focus on his commitments at the World Cup in Qatar - he has already expressed his satisfaction with life in Paris.
Speaking earlier this season, he said: "I like Paris a lot more now, I have discovered the city and I find it magnificent. In the first year, there was a huge change.
"Things happened very suddenly, it was not my objective to leave Barcelona, and everything about it was very abrupt. After this long period and the difficult times, I am happy to live where I live, and my family and I are enjoying Paris.
"It was hard at the start, we had stayed all our lives in the same place, I had never moved, and I did not know what it was like to leave. We did not expect this, it happened very quickly, and we had to leave Barcelona overnight.
“We found ourselves in a new environment. We had our life in Barcelona, our friends, our habits, and we found ourselves in a different place, with another language, another football, another climate, I suffered a lot from that. It was hard. But, today, I enjoy everything including football."
Messi has made 19 appearances for PSG this season, scoring 12 and providing 14 assists. He has taken that form into the World Cup having found the net twice in the group stage with Argentina having set up a last-16 tie with Australia.
