29 May 2023 , 10:32
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Lionel Messi has heightened speculation about his future after choosing to go to a Coldplay concert in Barcelona with Cesc Fabregas, rather than attend the Ligue 1 awards ceremony on Sunday.
Messi helped Paris Saint-Germain win the Ligue 1 title by scoring in their 1-1 draw with Strasbourg on Saturday night. The Argentine scored his 496th goal in Europe's top five leagues to take him past Cristiano Ronaldo's mark of 495.
The draw helped PSG secure their ninth title in the past 11 seasons in France’s top flight ahead of their final game of the campaign against Clermont on the weekend. Footage from inside the dressing room at Strasbourg showed the PSG players spraying champagne and chanting – but, perhaps tellingly, Messi remained seated, not joining in.
Messi’s contract with PSG expires at the end of June and he is expected to leave the club after two years. He was suspended by PSG in April for taking an unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia and appears detached from the rest of the squad.
That feeling was underlined by footage from the weekend which showed Messi in the crowd watching Coldplay at the Montjuic Stadium with his wife Antonela Roccuzzo and his former Barcelona team-mate Fabregas on Sunday. People were quick to chant his name amid rumours he could be about to re-join the club he left in the summer of 2021.
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Messi was in Barcelona instead of attending the UNFP awards ceremony in Paris, where Kylian Mbappe was named as Ligue 1 player of the season. Messi was named in the team of the season at the official Ligue 1 ceremony organised by the players’ union, but he was not present to celebrate that accolade.
Lionel Messi scored in the 1-1 draw at Strasbourg on Saturday night (JEAN-CHRISTOPHE VERHAEGEN/AFP via Getty Images) HAVE YOUR SAY! Will Lionel Messi return to Barcelona this summer? Comment below.
PSG fans were not impressed, with one writing on Twitter : "Priorities. Coldplay concert >>> PSG celebrations." However, Barcelona fans were excited by his presence in the city, with one commenting: “He’s coming home”.
Messi has plenty of options on the table for when his PSG deal expires on June 30, with Barcelona, MLS side Inter Miami and Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal all vying for his services. Al-Hilal are willing to pay him a staggering £369million-per-year, while Miami, who are part-owned by David Beckham, have been trying to coax him to join for years.
L’Equipe has reported that Messi’s wife, Antonela is not sold on the Saudi move because she doesn’t want to relocate to the Middle East with the couple’s three young sons. Despite their financial struggles, Barcelona are therefore favourites and president Joan Laporta recently met with Messi’s father Jorge and is working hard to bring him back to Spain.
Messi has contributed 21 goals and 20 assists in 40 appearances across all competitions for PSG and clearly still has plenty to give as he approaches his 36th birthday in June.