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
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 a lukewarm love affair between Messi and the Parisian club
Messi already has ties to the country. Last year, he agreed to a £25m-a-year deal to work as a tourism ambassador for the Saudis.
His visit with wife Antonella and their children Mateo, seven, and Ciro, five, last week saw them pose for a set of nice promotional pictures which the Saudis no doubt plan to use in their holiday brochures.
There were snaps of Messi with a falcon perched on his arm, playing board game Carrom, of the family learning the local craft of palm-weaving and everyone playing arcade games at a Riyadh amusement park.
The Saudi minister of tourism Ahmed Al Khateeb tweeted: ‘I am happy to welcome Messi and his family to Saudi to enjoy the magical tourist destinations and authentic experiences.
‘We welcome visitors from all around the world to experience a unique trip to Saudi Arabia and its hospitality.’
Messi and his son try out the board game Carrom during the promotional trip to Riyadh
The Messi family learned the art of palm-weaving during their Middle East trip this week
The family visited an amusement park in Riyadh as part of Messi’s ambassadorial role
The Saudis are keen to make use of Messi’s global profile to promote tourism to the country
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Messi and his wife pose for pictures during their visit to Diriyah earlier this week
