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Lionel Messi is reportedly negotiating with Paris Saint-Germain after FC Barcelona announced he would not be penning a new deal with the club.
The report comes from renowned journalist Mohamed Bouhfasi, who has stated that PSG and Messi are exchanging conversations over a potential switch for the Argentine superstar.
In a headline that sent shockwaves around the football fraternity, Barcelona took to social media to declare that Messi would be leaving the club after close to 21 years in Catalonia.
They reported on their official website:
"Despite FC Barcelona and Lionel Messi having reached an agreement and the clear intention of both parties to sign a new contract today, this cannot happen because of Spanish LaLiga regulations on player registration."
Barcelona's statement further read:
"As a result of this situation, Messi shall not be staying on at FC Barcelona. Both parties deeply regret that the wishes of the player and the club will ultimately not be fulfilled."
Despite intense speculation of a move to either Manchester City or PSG, various papers confirmed that Messi was set to take a pay cut and remain at his boyhood club.
The paperwork had, in fact, been finalized. However, due to Barcelona's discernible financial struggles and La Liga's regulations, both parties were left with no option but to terminate the new deal.
Not many clubs in the world can accommodate Messi's wages. PSG are one of the teams who can and are now favorites to land the Barcelona skipper. Should the deal go through, Messi will reunite with his former teammate Neymar.
Barcelona and La Liga will, of course, not want to lose their most prized possession. PSG have supposedly been very attentive to the situation surrounding Messi and could provide an escape route for the out-of-contract forward.
Football will take a while to view Lionel Messi in a different shirt
Regardless of where he goes, one cannot help but admit that it's going to be difficult to watch Barcelona and Messi without one another.
The news has definitely resulted in a spine-tingling and numb feeling across the footballing landscape. This is simply because Barcelona are set to lose the player who has scored 672 goals and added 305 assists in 778 matches for the club.
A staggering 35 trophies, along with six Ballon d'Or awards that fail to justify the enigma that Messi is, are set to be etched in the biggest piece of history at Barcelona.
PSG may end up building a team full of superstars that already includes Sergio Ramos, Neymar, Angel Di Maria and Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Also read: Twitter explodes as Lionel Messi officially leaves Barcelona
