Messi’s PSG stint ends on acrimonious note

Lionel Messi’s two-year stint at Paris Saint-Germain is set to come to an end with a move to join long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia, just months after his crowning glory at the 2022 World Cup.

For his legions of admirers, the debate about Messi’s right to be regarded as the greatest footballer in history was officially put to bed when he led Argentina to the title in Qatar in December.

But his career at the highest level in Europe appears to have finished on a low note.

Messi was suspended by PSG last week for making an unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia.

He has scored 31 goals in 71 appearances for the French champions and is likely to win a second consecutive Ligue 1 title later this month, but failed in his mission to help PSG to a maiden Champions League triumph, suffering back-to-back last-16 defeats.

Barcelona had been hopeful of bringing the 35-year-old back to the Camp Nou, where he won 10 La Liga titles and four Champions League crowns before a tearful departure in 2021.

Instead though, Saudi Arabia, regularly accused of sports-washing, or hosting the biggest names in sport to deflect attention from its human rights record, will be able to boast having arguably the two greatest players of the modern era in their unheralded domestic league.

Ronaldo is playing for Al Nassr, while a source close to the negotiations who told AFP that Messi’s move to Saudi Arabia was a “done deal”, stopped short of saying which club the Argentine will join.

– World Cup mission accomplished –

The absence of a World Cup winners’ medal had long been Exhibit A in the argument about why Messi did not rank above Pele and Diego Maradona in football’s pantheon.

But with Argentina’s victory over France in last year’s jaw-dropping World Cup final in Doha, the case was surely closed.

In a glittering career that has spanned three decades, Messi has won 37 club trophies, seven Ballon d’Or awards and six European Golden Boots.

There has been a Copa America title, an Olympic gold medal and a list of scoring and statistical records that may never be beaten.

In his final World Cup appearance, Messi scored twice as Argentina battled to a 3-3 draw in extra time before prevailing on penalties.

Not even Kylian Mbappe’s hat-trick for France could upset Messi’s appointment with destiny on a night that seemed pre-ordained.