PSG to offer Lionel Messi new deal after World Cup, amid Barcelona rumours – report

Lionel Messi waves to supporters after his team won the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group C football match between Poland and Argentina at Stadium 974 in Doha on 30 November, 2022.
(Image credit: Andrej Isakovic/AFP via Getty Images)

PSG will reportedly offer star man Lionel Messi a new two-and-a-half-year contract following World Cup 2022.

Messi – who's currently hoping to captain Argentina to glory at his last World Cup in Qatar – joined the Ligue 1 giants on an initial two-year deal after leaving Barcelona in the summer of last year.

That means, as things stand, he's set to become a free agent at the end of this season – but the Parisians appear determined to stop that from happening as soon as possible

According to Goal, PSG will make the 35-year-old a formal proposal when he returns from the World Cup, which concludes with the final on 18 December.

Should Messi accept the offer, he'll remain at the Parc des Princes until his 37th birthday.

This news comes amid rumours of a return to Barca for the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner – who claimed every team trophy there was to win during his 17 years at the Camp Nou, including the Champions League on four occasions.

Messi has also been linked with a switch to MLS outfit Inter Miami, who are co-owned by David Beckham.

The Argentina skipper has just helped his country into the last 16 of the World Cup as Group C winners – despite seeing his penalty saved in Wednesday's 2-0 victory over Poland.

That result came after a 2-0 triumph over Mexico – in which Messi opened the scoring with one of the goals of the tournament – as the two-time world champions bounced back from a shock opening defeat to Saudi Arabia.

Tom Hancock

Tom Hancock started freelancing for FourFourTwo in April 2019 and has also written for the Premier League and Opta Analyst, among others. He supports Wycombe Wanderers and has a soft spot for Wealdstone. A self-confessed statto, he has been known to watch football with a spreadsheet (or several) open...