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Huge contract details revealed as Barcelona legend Messi agrees next move

Lionel Messi will play professional football for PSG next year after his free agent move from Barcelona to Paris was given the green light.

The Argentine icon, 34, has played the entirety of his professional career with Barcelona. Many predicted he would stay with the La Liga powerhouse until his retirement, but the club’s financial strife laid waste to that notion.

Instead, it emerged last week that the five-year contract Messi agreed to sign with Barcelona could not be ratified. As such, a tearful Messi announced to the world on Sunday that his playing career at Barcelona had officially come to an end.

PSG quickly emerged as the frontrunner to sign the forward who is arguably the greatest footballer of all time.

The French giants are one of only a handful of clubs that can absorb Messi’s enormous financial demands, and according to trusted source Fabrizio Romano, a ‘total agreement’ has been reached.

Romano tweeted a ‘two-year contract’ with an ‘option’ for a further year has been agreed.

The deal will net Messi ‘around €35m net per season add-ons included.’

That figure roughly equates to a weekly pay packet of £570,000-a-week.

Messi’s father, Jorge, confirmed the news to Spanish television station La Sexta. “Yes, Leo’s gonna sign with Paris Saint-Germain today,” said Jorge (via Romano).

Messi was then recorded arriving at an airport in Barcelona as he prepared to fly to Paris to conclude the move.

Both Messi and PSG are said to be working towards holding a press conference on Wednesday. His official unveiling will then follow.

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Messi deal to prompt mass PSG exodus

Meanwhile, Big-spending PSG are ready to sell as many as 10 players to help fund the signing of Messi.

According to The Athletic, PSG may still have to ship out 10 players as a result.

The report claims, even though the market is a challenging one because of the Covid-19 pandemic, they “anticipate” interest in the players they are looking to move on.

The French side have eight keepers on their books with five names in the first-team squad on their website. Keylor Navas, Gianluigu Donnarumma, Sergio Rico, Denis Franchi and Alexander Letellier are all considered first-team options. And that does not include Alphonse Areola who has been loaned to West Ham.

Idrissa Gueye, Mauro Icardi, Abdou Diallo, Thilo Kehrer and Rafinha are all likely to be shifted out. 

But one player who is not up for sale, per the report, is France star Kylian Mbappe.

READ MORE: Chelsea winner admits he sent cheeky text to Lionel Messi

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