Lionel Messi will begin the next chapter of his career at Paris Saint-Germain after his shock departure from Barcelona.
The 34-year-old expected he would sign a new contract with Barça after his previous deal expired, but the financially troubled Catalan club were unable to keep him.
A devastated Messi said goodbye to Barcelona during an emotional press conference. He then considered offers from several clubs including, most notably, PSG.
After days of speculation, Messi and his family flew to Paris on August 10 to complete the deal.
Messi has agreed a two-year contract, with the option of a third year, and will transform PSG into an even more formidable side.
With Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Sergio Ramos, Marco Verratti, Angel Di Maria, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Marquinhos and other household names at the Parc des Princes, PSG now boast the most talented group of players in world football.
Anything less than Champions League glory this season will be deemed a failure, especially when you consider how much money PSG’s owners are paying their players.
Per The Sun, here are the wages of PSG’s players (including Messi) for the 2021-22 season…
Colin Dagba - £25,000 a week
Danilo Pereira - £35,000 a week
Sergio Rico - £45,000 a week
Layvin Kurzawa - £80,000 a week
Thilo Kehrer - £85,000 a week
Pablo Sarabia - £85,000 a week
Juan Bernat - £90,000 a week
Rafinha - £90,000 a week
Abdou Diallo - £90,000 a week
Julian Draxler - £125,000 a week
Ander Herrera - £140,000 a week
Leandro Paredes - £140,000 a week
Achraf Hakimi - £160,000 a week
Georginio Wijnaldum - £160,000 a week
Mauro Icardi - £170,000 a week
Presnel Kimpembe - £175,000 a week
Gianluigi Donnarumma - £200,000 a week
Sergio Ramos - £200,000 a week
Keylor Navas - £210,000 a week
Angel Di Maria - £235,000 a week
Marco Verratti - £235,000 a week
Marquinhos - £250,000 a week
Kylian Mbappe - £310,000 a week
Neymar - £490,000 a week
Lionel Messi - £650,000 a week
It’s not a huge surprise that Messi goes straight into the No. 1 spot at the Parc des Princes.
The six-time Ballon d’Or winner will earn more than double what Mbappe is currently taking home. We’re not sure how well that’ll go down with the Frenchman…
Messi will also earn £160,000 a week more than Neymar, who remains the most expensive footballer of all time after leaving Barcelona for PSG in a deal worth £200 million in 2017.
It’s a little surprising that Ramos is ‘only’ on £200,000 a week. The legendary ex-Real Madrid centre-back is one year older than his former Barça rival.
Nobody would have imagined that those two would end up becoming teammates one day, but here we are.
It promises to be a fascinating season for PSG both domestically and in Europe.