Lionel Messi turned down €1.4 billion offer in favour of MLS move

In June 2023, it was announced that arguably the greatest football player of all time, Lionel Messi, would be departing Paris Saint-Germain after spending two years at the club.

Despite having 21 goals and 20 assists in his final season for the French club, fans turned on the Argentinian winger, leading to head coach Christophe Galtier announcing that the club would not be extending Messi’s contract.

Rumours immediately began to circulate that the World Cup winner would join his long-term rival Cristiano Ronaldo in signing for a Saudi Pro League club.

Instead, Messi chose to sign a two-year deal with American team Inter Miami, the Major League Soccer club owned by David Beckham.

But it has now been revealed that an official offer to join the Saudi league was submitted to Messi, and he was offered a staggering €1.4 billion.

Anmar Al Haili, president of Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal revealed the details of the deal, saying: "We actually contacted Messi when his contract in Paris ended.

“We presented him with an offer of 1.4 billion euros, but the player refused because his family wanted America.

“It was a surprise how the player could refuse such a huge offer for the sake of his family. It was possible to convince his family, but he did not hesitate to refuse.

“We respect this, as family is more important than money "

If Messi had accepted Al Hilal’s proposal, he would have been reunited once again with former teammate Neymar Jr, who he played alongside at both Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.

The forward line would be completed by Serbian striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, who left Premier League club Fulham for Saudi Arabia at the end of the 2022/23 season.

Luis Suarez joined Lionel Messi at Inter Miami for the 2024 season (Image: Getty)

Since signing for Inter Miami, Messi has been joined by several other of his former teammates including Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets, who he played with during his 14 years at Barcelona.

Messi has made 18 appearances at Inter Miami, scoring 13 goals and registering an impressive 15 assists.

SPORTbible are on WhatsApp! We've launched a dedicated transfer news channel to send you the latest deals, rumours and more directly on WhatsApp and all you need to do to sign up is click through to our one-way broadcast channel here for 'SPORTbible News' to appear in the 'Updates' tab on your WhatsApp.