Saudi Arabian clubs not optimistic about their chances of signing Messi – report

With Lionel Messi headed towards free agency at the end of the season, there has been a lot of interest generated in the former Barcelona captain.

Indeed, the PSG superstar’s current contract expires on June 30 and a renewal, which seemed certain a few months ago, does not look like a possibility any longer.

Naturally, the potential availability of the best in the world has alerted a lot of clubs. For starters, Barcelona have started work in the background to try and bring their former captain back home for one final chapter.

Meanwhile, MLS club Inter Miami are putting together unique proposals to try and lure him to the USA.

At the same time, clubs in Saudi Arabia are also keen on signing Messi and are prepared to throw the cash to get the 35-year-old to move to the Middle East.

Indeed, Al Ittihad had shown an interest in the Argentina captain while Al Hilal are also looking at the 2022 World Cup winning-captain. In fact, recent reports suggested that the latter were even willing to offer him an outrageous contract worth over €400 million per year.

But, according to a fresh update from MARCA, there is not much optimism amongst the Saudi Arabian clubs over their chances of signing Messi and they are already looking at other players to bring in as marquee additions for the summer.

The idea had been to rekindle the legendary rivalry between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who left Manchester United for Al Nassr back in January. Saudi Arabia are keen on boosting their footballing profile ahead of a potential bid to host the FIFA World Cup 2030.

But, their hopes of signing Messi are starting to bring Messi to the country are starting to diminish and there does not seem to be much optimism about the deal happening.

It has been regularly reported that the Argentina captain wants to stay put in Europe for at least one more year. In that case, with his relationship with PSG getting tense, Barcelona would be best-placed to sign Messi, although their own FFP issues are a big hurdle to cross.