Lionel Messi is bound for Saudi Arabia then.
After months of speculation over whether or not he would join nemesis Cristiano Ronaldo in the Middle East, reports in France revealed on Tuesday morning that a deal is complete.
The Argentine World Cup winner, 35, will sign a massive contract worth £522million at Saudi side Al-Hilal.
It will also see him reignite his long-standing rivalry with Ronaldo, who plays for Al-Hilal’s rivals Al-Nassr in the Gulf state.
As Saudi Arabia continues to make power plays to establish itself as a global sports hub, the prospect of the two greatest players of their, or any, generation going head-to-head in their league is a mouth-watering one.
Lionel Messi, wife Antonela Roccuzzo and sons Mateo and Ciro pose with horses during their recent visit to Saudi Arabia which led to the Argentine player being suspended by PSG
Messi poses with a falcon during his Saudi visit amid rumours he could play football there
Cristiano Ronaldo with his family in Saudi Arabia after he signed for Al-Nassr back in January
Ronaldo and his partner Georgina Rodriguez enjoy the sunshine in the Saudi capital
The Portuguese star, 38, is attempting to lead Al-Nassr to the Saudi Pro League title having signed for the club after his acrimonious departure from Manchester United
At 35, Messi is moving from the autumn to the winter of his astonishing career.
While Messi – and his family – may have preferred a move back to Barcelona, where he emerged from the academy ranks to become their greatest player, the Spanish club’s well-documented financial issues have proven to be an unbeatable hurdle.
In order to register Messi’s contract with LaLiga, who run Spain’s top division, Barcelona needed to lose around €200m [£175m] from their existing wage bill.
If they re-signed Messi, who currently commands wages approaching £1m-a-week, they would have had to sell several existing big earners to stay within the league limits.
So while Barcelona fans were beginning to get excited that Messi’s two-week PSG suspension after an unsanctioned ambassadorial trip to Saudi could have led him back to the Nou Camp, it was never likely to become reality.
There was also interest from Inter Miami in the United States but in terms of pure financial incentive, the Saudi offer blows everyone else out the water.
Messi has become disillusioned with Paris Saint-Germain and will leave the club this summer
The fallout marks the end of…