Marca spies have spotted that Jorge Messi, Lionel Messi’s father and agent, is in Riyadh and has not gone on vacation to the desert kingdom’s capital. Messi Sr. has been photographed in the lobby of a luxury hotel on two occasions, and in both photos he is talking to a man dressed in traditional Arab clothing.
President of Hamad Academics, Abdullah Hammad Stadium @AfHammad14 One of His Highness’ confidants #Minister of Sports Prince Abdulaziz Al-Faisal meets the father of Alastora Messi and the agent of his son’s workers Saudi Arabia.. pic.twitter.com/iDK3tIFWZD
– Ahmed Al-Ajlan (@ ahmad2man) March 14, 2023
We do not know the Arabic language, but we put the text in the translator and we got that in the first picture Abdullah HamadThe head of the Mahd Sports Academy is negotiating with Jorge Messi, the second Abdulaziz Al-Faisal Prince, Saudi Minister of Sports.
Marca learned that there is an intention of a state, or rather a monarchy, to achieve this, after Cristiano Ronaldo, another elderly soccer player, Lionel Messi, who is 36 years old, also signed a contract in Saudi Arabia, specifically with Al-Hilal, the team that Real played with. Madrid not so long ago in the final of the Club World Cup, which they were defeated 5-3.
Al-Hilal cannot confirm until June due to disciplinary measures taken by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but after that the trade is free. By the way, the club already made an offer of 242 million euros for Cristiano Ronaldo last September, but the Portuguese did not want to wait until June, and therefore signed the Al-Nassr contract in December.
Marca understands that Messi is being lured on similar financial terms to Ronaldo. They offer him 220 million euros for one year.
Therefore, they will also get the rights to their likeness, that is, the Argentine will be the face of the desert kingdom like the Portuguese. However, there is an important difference between the two contracts: Ronaldo signed with Al-Nassr for two and a half years, and Messi was only required to sign for one year, after which he could decide on a possible extension.
Saudi Arabia wants to create a balance in the domestic league, so that Al-Nassr does not become too strong, which is why they want to send Messi to the great rival, Al-Hilal. With Messi’s current club, Paris Saint-Germain, ignominiously eliminated in the last 16 of the Champions League against Bayern Munich, nothing connects the Argentine superstar to Paris but money. And Saudi Arabia has a lot of that too…
Saudi Arabia wants to be a reference point in the social life of the world, and in its quest to achieve this, sports, including football, play a crucial role. Next week, the Formula 1 Grand Prix will be held in Jeddah, the second largest city in the country. And if Messi also ends up in the desert kingdom, the country will definitely be on the football map, and even as a dominant force.
(Cover photo: Lionel Messi on March 8, 2023. Photo: Jonathan Moscropp/Getty Images)
