Lionel Messi set to join PSG on two-year deal, will reach Paris on Tuesday

Lionel Messi has reached an agreement with Paris Saint Germain (PSG) over a transfer to the French soccer club, sports paper L'Equipe said on its website, adding he was due to arrive in Paris in the coming hours.

Reportedly, Messi will move to the French club on a deal worth £25m per year after tax, plus bonuses and the 34-year-old will have the option of extending his stay in the PSG by a year, while the forward will also receive a £25m signing-on fee.

Messi, the record goalscorer for both Argentina and Barcelona, is one of the greatest players of all time.

Lionel Messi joins PSG... HERE WE GO! Total agreement completed on a two-years contract. Option to extend until June 2024. Salary around €35m net per season add ons included.  #Messi

Messi has definitely accepted PSG contract proposal and will be in Paris in the next hours. pic.twitter.com/DiM5jNzxTA — Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 10, 2021

The six-time Ballon d'Or winner, wept on Sunday as he bid farewell to his boyhood team, after the club said it could no longer afford to keep him, blaming La Liga's fair play rules.

The PSG frontline is already formidable, with Messi's former Barca teammate Neymar and young France striker Kylian Mbappe seen as two of the best players on the planet.

But the arrival of Messi, Barca's all-time record goalscorer with 682 in 17 years, will boost the club's ambitions to win a first-ever Champions League.

The arrival of Messi, who has 245 million followers on Instagram and is Barcelona's most decorated player of all time, is also welcome news for France's Ligue 1, embroiled in a crisis over TV rights.