After helping Paris Saint-Germain win its 11th\u00a0Ligue 1 title\u00a0at the weekend,\u00a0Lionel Messi\u00a0has some thinking to do.<\/p>\n

With his contract at the\u00a0Parisian club coming to an end in June and his relationship with the club seemingly at a breaking point, there is much speculation about where the\u00a0Argentine\u00a0will be playing his football next season.<\/p>\n

In a\u00a0recent interview\u00a0with CNN Sport\u2019s Amanda Davies, Messi said he would continue playing while he\u2019s still enjoying it and, at 35, he certainly has a few more years to give.<\/p>\n

Less than six months ago he was awarded the Golden Ball at the World Cup \u2013 the prize given to the best player in the tournament \u2013 and has scored 16 goals and provided 16 assists in this season\u2019s league campaign.<\/p>\n

What went wrong at PSG?<\/h3>\n

Messi arrived in the French capital to much fanfare. He was to be the missing piece in the puzzle; the man to drive the team to its first-ever Champions League trophy.<\/p>\n

While Messi struggled with injury during his first season in Paris, he still managed to show flashes of his brilliance.<\/p>\n

He helped the team win yet another Ligue 1 title, but PSG ultimately failed in the Champions League, being beaten by eventual champion Real Madrid in the round of 16.<\/p>\n

His second season started much better and his link-up play with the likes of Neymar Jr. and Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 was the envy of teams around the world.<\/p>\n

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Messi’s relationship with PSG has become strained in recent months. – Stephanie Lecocq\/Reuters<\/p>\n

But after his mesmerizing performances in winning the World Cup for Argentina in December 2022, he returned to yet more struggles on a domestic level.<\/p>\n

In March, PSG was dumped out of the Champions League yet again in the round of 16 \u2013 this time by Bayern Munich.<\/p>\n

It sparked a bitter end of the season and Messi was one of a number of star players to receive a\u00a0hostile reaction from fans\u00a0later that month.<\/p>\n

Messi was then suspended for two weeks after leaving France to attend promotional events in Saudi Arabia; the unauthorized trip meant that he missed a training session.<\/p>\n

Despite another title victory, a move to a new club looks more than likely.<\/p>\n

The big question, though, is where?<\/p>\n

Barcelona return?<\/h3>\n

The Catalan club is where Messi turned from schoolboy to sporting legend.<\/p>\n

At 17 years old, he made his first of 778 appearances for the\u00a0Blaugrana<\/em>, becoming the youngest player to represent the club in an official game at the time.<\/p>\n

He went on to break the club\u2019s goalscoring record and won 35 trophies during his time at the Camp Nou \u2013 including 10 La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues.<\/p>\n

His emotional departure was fueled by the club\u2019s\u00a0dire financial state\u00a0in 2021 and Messi was in tears as he said goodbye in his final press conference.<\/p>\n

Under new coach and club legend Xavi, Barcelona has just won its first La Liga title in four years this year, with the club starting to look more competitive.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, there\u2019s no doubt that if Messi comes back, he will help us on a football level,\u201d Xavi told Barcelona-based newspaper\u00a0SPORT\u00a0in a recent interview.<\/p>\n

\u201cI let the president [Joan Laporta] know this. I have no doubts, no doubt at all that he will help because he is still a decisive footballer, because he still has hunger, because he\u2019s a winner, because he\u2019s a leader, and because, also, he\u2019s a different, different player,\u201d added Xavi, who told SPORT that he still talks to Messi.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have a Bar\u00e7a on a talent level like 2010, for example. And what would Messi bring? He\u2019d bring the talent. The final pass, set pieces, goals \u2026 in the final third, he\u2019s a player on a different level.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs such, and because of the way I want to play, the way the staff wants to play too, for me there\u2019s no doubt that he would help us a lot, but it all depends on him. In the end, the one who calls the shots at this time is Leo. There\u2019s no doubt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Journalist Marcela Mora y Araujo, who is an expert on Argentine football, told CNN Sport that while a move to Barcelona would be a \u201cfitting end\u201d to his career, the transfer surely remains somewhat of a \u201cfantasy\u201d given the club is still strapped for cash.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo end his playing days in his football home is quite romantic,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Barcelona temptation would be much more to do, perhaps, with his family. His kids were born there.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lifestyles of footballers\u2019 children are often like kids of diplomats, where they spend a lot of their young lives traveling around the world and then, maybe in their late teens, they have a say and want to be somewhere where they\u2019re happy and comfortable and have a good life. Saudi Arabia might be weird in that respect.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that side \u2013 family life, daily life, diet, friends, language \u2013 then Barcelona would win. No question.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barcelona has made no attempt to hide its feelings toward Messi, but it would require a lot of work behind the scenes to make the signing a reality.<\/p>\n

But huge deals with\u00a0audio streaming service Spotify and global investment firm Sixth Street, among others, have helped the club claw its way back from the total financial disarray it found itself in following the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

In September 2022, Barcelona said it had recorded a profit of $98 million for the 2021\/22 financial year and predicted profits of $298 million for this current season.<\/p>\n

The club also announced the renegotiation of the $1.6 billion financial plan to repay the debt taken on to finance the renovation of its dilapidated Camp Nou stadium, meaning Barcelona will now pay off the debt five years earlier than originally planned.<\/p>\n

Its ability to once again potentially pay big fees and big contracts to players, coupled with Messi\u2019s impending departure, has fans dreaming of a potential return.<\/p>\n

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Despite an array of world-class talent, PSG has failed to win the Champions League with Messi. – Carl Recine\/Action Images\/Reuters<\/p>\n

However, Messi might be put off by Ronaldo\u2019s apparent struggles both on and off the pitch since his move to Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n

The Portuguese star has cut a frustrated figure at times this season and there are reports he\u2019s already looking for a move away.<\/p>\n

\u201cSaudi Arabia\u2019s bad image or bad press is a bigger deal in Europe than it is in the global South, I think,\u201d said Mora y Araujo, referring to the Middle East country\u2019s human rights record.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot to say that it isn\u2019t commented upon or mentioned in the press \u2026 I don\u2019t think his legacy would be tarnished just through playing in Saudi.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, obviously, if he goes on to do something really controversial, but he seems to be somebody who keeps quite a low profile politically speaking, and just gives his image to things.\u201d<\/p>\n

MLS, Premier League, Argentina?<\/h3>\n

The list of potential suitors doesn\u2019t stop with Bar\u00e7a or clubs from Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n

There is the well-trodden path of superstar players moving to the MLS and reports have linked Messi with a potential move to David Beckham\u2019s Inter Miami.<\/p>\n

Beckham is a well-known fan of Messi and, in 2019, teased, \u201cYou never know what can happen in football,\u201d when asked about signing the Argentine one day.<\/p>\n

There have been more serious links since, with the UK newspaper The Times reporting in 2022 that a deal between the two parties was close.<\/p>\n

There is also the option to return home to his beloved Argentina, which would no doubt welcome him with open arms.<\/p>\n

Messi started his youth career at Newell\u2019s Old Boys before being quickly snapped up by Barcelona, but Mora Y Araujo said there is no expectation in Argentina that Messi would ever return home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t see him playing at Newell\u2019s Old Boys. I don\u2019t think that the emotional tie between him and that club was forged enough. He left when he was very young,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo have him back there would be lovely, but I\u2019m not sure anyone minds particularly. I think the big pressure from Argentina was that he delivered for Argentina [at the World Cup] and he\u2019s done that now.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be amazing if he went back to play in Argentina, but it would just be so absurd because he really is from another league, as it were.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Questions remain about whether Barcelona can afford to sign Messi, but is there a link to Guardiola in Leo’s future? – Lluis Gene\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Given its financial power, there has also been some speculation of a possible stint in the English Premier League with\u00a0Manchester City.<\/p>\n

The Premier League champion could offer a competitive package and reuniting with former Barcelona boss\u00a0Pep Guardiola\u00a0\u2013 who managed Messi during his peak years at the club \u2013 might be tempting.<\/p>\n

However, despite all of his mercurial brilliance, a move to the Premier League at this time in his career may be a step too far and, as Mora y Araujo said, Messi has nothing to prove to anyone.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the World Cup victory is like a beautiful fairytale ending for international football,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think he needs to win anything else and he has nothing to prove, so it\u2019s more a question of how he wants to spend his day job, what he wants to do every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

As it stands, Messi has many options and speculation will continue to swirl until a decision is made.<\/p>\n

Wherever he decides to go, the eyes of the world are surely set to follow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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