Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi reportedly has $440 million per year offer from Saudi club

Updated Apr. 4, 2023 5:00 p.m. ET

Paris Saint-Germain forward Lionel Messi has an offer on the table from Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal that would net him $440 million annually, according to Italian soccer journalist Fabrizio Romano.

If Messi accepted the offer from Al Hilal, he would be the highest-paid athlete in the world by a wide margin. Cristiano Ronaldo is currently the highest-paid athlete in the world with Al Nassr, another Saudi Pro League team. Ronaldo's contract, which he signed in January, is estimated to be worth $220 million annually.

Messi won't come anywhere near that number in Europe — Messi currently makes $75 million annually with PSG — but Europe's top clubs can give him something that no Saudi Pro League team can: an opportunity to compete for trophies at the highest level in club soccer. And according to Romano, that's Messi's No. 1 priority.

The top decision-makers at Barcelona have made it no secret that they want Messi back in Spain, but the same financial problems that led to Messi's abrupt exit from the storied club still exist today. Outside of Barcelona, no club in Europe has publicly courted Messi, but in the United States, MLS side Inter Miami CF has high hopes of pairing Messi with his ex-Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets.

Messi's contract with PSG expires this summer. According to multiple reports, he's not expected to renew with the French club.

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