Lionel Messi, PSG Reportedly Agree to 2-Year Contract After Barcelona Exit

Lionel Messi agreed to a two-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain after officially announcing his goodbye to Barcelona on Sunday, according to ESPN.

The six-time Ballon d'Or winner, who became a free agent on July 1, was fairly coy about his future during Sunday's emotional goodbye, noting there were multiple options for him after Barcelona made the shocking announcement on Thursday that he would be leaving the club.

"[PSG] is one possibility. There's nothing closed at the moment, but we're talking about a lot of things," Messi said. "After Barca's statement, a lot of clubs showed an interest. But nothing final, although there are talks, of course."

However, it appears the rumours ahead of Sunday's goodbye have come to fruition. The reported move follows a drama-filled year surrounding Messi.

It appeared Messi was on the verge of leaving the Camp Nou last year before a disputed contract clause saw him stay with Barcelona. In September, he told Goal's Ruben Uria that former club president Josep Maria Bartomeu decided to enforce a €700 million release clause that made a move "impossible."

Messi arrived to Barcelona's famed youth academy, La Masia, in 2001 and made his first-team debut in a friendly in 2003. He went on to score 672 goals in 778 appearances across all competitions for the Blaugrana.

Now Messi looks set to head to the Parc des Princes to form a star-studded attacking trio with Kylian Mbappe and former Barca teammate Neymar, adding further firepower to a club that led Ligue 1 with 86 goals scored during the 2020-21 term.

While it may take fans some time to get used to seeing the icon in PSG colours, there's little doubt he will hit the ground running given his skill and the high level of talent around him in the French capital.

It is unclear when Messi will make his debut because the deal still needs to be finalized. PSG's next Ligue 1 game is against Strasbourg on Saturday.