Saudi Arabia club, Al-Ittihad are reportedly ready to break the bank to sign Paris-Saint-Germain superstar, Lionel Messi, Newspremises has gathered.
Reports emernating from the Middle East suggest that Al-Ittihad have joined Al-Hilal in the race to land the 2022 World Cup winner.
Barca Universal earlier this week claimed that Al-Hilal were prepared to pay £245 million for the Argentine mastermind.
However, according to GOAL, Al-Ittihad are now reportedly interested in the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner as the league seeks to boost its star power in the wake of Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Al-Nassr.
According to reports in Marca, both clubs are willing to pay Messi a huge ‘£306m’ per season, eclipsing the £175m his old rival Ronaldo earns.
Messi and Ronaldo are known to be lifelong rivals, battling for every top trophy or award in Europe before the ex-Manchester United man joined Al Nassr in December 2022.
With the planned contract from Al-Itihad, Messi will surpass Ronaldo’s $215 million salary from Al Nassr as the highest-paid athlete in football history.
However, PSG is sure that Messi would sign a contract extension because the new agreement includes various increased bonuses and could last until 2025.
