Paris Saint-Germain director Luis Campos has confirmed that the club are in discussions with Lionel Messi over a new contract.
Messi joined PSG in the summer of 2021 on a two-year deal after leaving Barcelona due to the Catalan club’s financial situation.
With the Argentina international now in the final six months of his PSG contract, there is uncertainty surrounding his future in the French capital.
The 35-year-old has been linked with a return to Barcelona, while MLS franchise Inter Miami are believed to be interested.
A recent report claimed that Saudi Arabian clubs Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr, who recently recruited Cristiano Ronaldo, are keen to sign Messi in the near future.
Although Al-Hilal are reportedly prepared to make Messi the highest-paid player in the world, PSG are hopeful of agreeing a new deal.
PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has previously expressed a desire to extend Messi’s stay at the Parc des Princes.
There was always a belief that talks over a new PSG contract would gather pace after the 2022 World Cup, and Campos has confirmed that discussions are taking place.
“We are in talks with Leo Messi as we want to extend his contract,” the PSG director told Telefoot.
“I’d like to keep him in this project. We are talking now to achieve this goal and continue to have Messi with us.”
Messi scored six goals and three assists to help his country win the 2022 World Cup, where his match-winning performances earned him the Golden Ball award.
Although he struggled to reach his high standards in his first season at PSG, he still managed to record 11 goals and provide 15 assists in 34 appearances during the 2021-22 campaign.
However, Messi has already surpassed those numbers this term, racking up 15 goals and 14 assists across 24 games in all competitions.
Messi scored the winning goal in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Toulouse, which extended PSG’s lead to eight points at the top of the Ligue 1 table ahead of Sunday’s fixtures.
[DON’T MISS] Lionel Messi reaches incredible statistical feat in 13 league seasons
Lionel Messi has scored two goals in his last two games for Paris Saint-Germain without Kylian Mbappe and Neymar Jr. out for the contests.
The two tallies by Messi this week, along with his already 10 assists, marked another historical feat for the Argentine. Messi has scored 10-plus goals & provided 10-plus assists in 13 league seasons.
Messi’s highest goal tallie during this 13-season run came during the 2011-12 campaign with FC Barcelona, where the veteran scored 50 goals. The most assists that Messi recorded was in 2019-20, which were 20.
Last season was a down season for the PSG star, which resulted in many believing that Messi’s best years were behind him. Nonetheless, the former Barcelona captain has shown he can still play at a high level.
It will be interesting to see whether Messi can cross either 20 goals or 20 assists in this second half of the season.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup winner will be counted on these next three weeks with Kylian Mbappe out and Neymar continuing his treatment and individual training sessions following pain in his groin.
Messi will need to guide PSG to a good result in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 against FC Bayern Munich as they hope to make a deep run in the competition.
SOURCE: sportsmole.co.uk, psgtalk.com
