Al-Hilal SFC has reportedly sent offers to Barcelona stars Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba in an attempt to lure Lionel Messi into the Saudi Professional League.
Messi left Barcelona in 2021 to sign with Paris Saint-Germain on a two-year deal reportedly worth € 30 million (£26,000) as per The Athletic.
It’s been widely speculated that Messi could return to Barça as a free agent this summer, but Al Hilal has different plans for the Argentinian star.
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To tempt Messi to the Saudi Pro League, Al Hilal have apparently put offers in for La Liga veterans Busquets and Alba.
It’s reported that Al Hilal has already approached the pair and also plans to reach out to Messi’s PSG teammate, Marco Verratti, too.
However, according to Mundo Deportivo, Busquets nor Alba have accepted any recent offers from the Saudi club.
Reports say that Busquets is currently considering renewing his contract with Barcelona, which is believed to include a one-year extension on massively reduced terms.
However, the Barca captain is yet to reveal his thoughts on his future and at 34 years old, it’s not known whether the defender is keen to end his senior career where he started it.
However, if he does decide to join Al Hilal, Busquets will be doing it on a free-agent basis.
Alba on the other hand is still under contract with the Catalan club until 2024 and has previously expressed his desire to fulfil the contract terms and stay at the club.
The left-back is also due to welcome his third child with his wife, Romarey Ventura, this year so may be keen to stay local for the foreseeable future.
So, while Al Hilal may have the vision, it seems like it could take more than just propositioning Busquets and Alba to convince Messi to join them.
Speculation about Messi’s future at PSG has recently been called into question after the Argentinian was banned from playing for two weeks.
The World Cup winner was hit with a hefty fine and banned by PSG after missing training and travelling to Saudi Arabia to fulfil a tourism ambassador contract.
Since being sanctioned, Messi has publicly apologised to the club and his teammates for undertaking the trip.
In his statement, he said: “I thought we were going to have a day off after the game as always. I had this trip organised and I couldn’t cancel it. I had already called it before.
“I apologise to my teammates and I’m waiting for what the club wants to do with me.”
However, despite being handed a two-week ban, the 35-year-old was seen back in training this week and is in contention for PSG’s fixture against Ajaccio this weekend.
Topics: Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, Saudi Pro League, Football, Barcelona
Ella Scott