Lionel Messi has agreed to a deal with the French football club Paris Saint-Germain and travelled to Paris on Tuesday via a private jet.
The 34-year-old Argentina captain, who spent more than two decades with FC Barcelona, said goodbye to the club in a tearful farewell on Friday and will be joining PSG for two years, with an option to extend for a year.
Messi has agreed to the deal in principle as a free agent and is yet to sign the official contract. He is expected to earn in the region of 35 million Euros yearly in salary.
Owned by the Qatar Sports Investments, which is reportedly owned by the Qatar government, PSG had paid 222 million euros in 2017 to bring Neymar from Barcelona.
PSG is currently coached by Mauricio Pochettino and they finished second to Lille in Ligue 1 last season and lost in the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League against Manchester City.
Messi is expected to complete his medical on Tuesday with a press conference expected on Wednesday at the club. He however will not wear the Number 10 shirt, which is now with Neymar at PSG.
So far this summer PSG have managed to bring in Gianluigi Donnarumma, Georginio Wijnaldum, and Sergio Ramos on free transfers before the Messi deal.
Messi's father, Jorge, who acts as the player's agent, was asked by reporters at Barcelona's El Prat airport if his son will sign for PSG.
"Yes," he replied. When asked about who was to blame for Messi leaving Barcelona, his father shot back, "Find out at the club."
Messi’s contract with Barcelona ran out on 30 June and since then he has also won his first major international trophy with Argentina when they won the Copa America, seeing off Brazil in the final.
Messi, who said he wanted to stay back in Barcelona, had even accepted a 50% pay cut to help the club which is going through a terrible time financially.
Messi admitted he had received several calls from clubs since the news broke that he would not continue his 21-year association with Barca.
"[PSG] is one possibility," Messi said on Sunday. "There's nothing closed at the moment, but we're talking about a lot of things. After Barca's statement, a lot of clubs showed an interest. There's nothing final but, of course, there are talks."
He won the Ballon d'Or a record six times and lifted 35 trophies with the Catalan club.
The Argentine also scored a record 672 goals in 778 games for Barca, the club he joined as a 13-year-old, in 2000.
(With inputs from ESPN and Reuters)
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