LIONEL MESSI: WHERE NEXT AFTER PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN? BARCELONA, SAUDI ARABIA AND MIAMI OPTIONS ASSESSED. Part 2

I don't understand' - Xavi plays down Messi return as he focuses on title hunt

“He would be happy returning to Barcelona, but he will surely have better offers from Saudi Arabia, Major League Soccer or even the Premier League.”

Any move back to Spain for Messi would involve a huge overhaul of the squad, but the club will still try to make the deal work after informing La Liga of their intention to re-sign the Argentina captain.

“They would also have to offer a low salary to Messi, and there has already been a meeting with La Liga to discuss how the operation could be done,” Sanchez added.

“The only way to make it happen is to sell players for huge amounts of money and reduce the current player salaries."

WHAT IS THE VIEW FROM FRANCE?

He may be a god-like figure in his native Argentina and among Barcelona fans, but that certainly isn’t the sentiment across the English Channel.

Cyril Morin of Eurosport France believes the damage had been done long before Messi’s jaunt to the Middle East, and explained the writing was on the wall after the World Cup.

“I’m not sure it [the Saudi trip] plays a huge role to be honest,” said Morin.

“Messi’s future was already a hot topic without this trip. His behaviour during games, like walking around and showing no intensity in his work off the ball, drew plenty of criticism in the past two seasons.

The fans believe he has been far less involved in the play than at Barcelona, and I don’t really understand what he is doing here.

“His contract renewal was supposed to be sealed during the World Cup following a verbal agreement with Jorge Messi [Lionel’s father and agent]. But since then, there was a big difficulty for PSG and Messi’s entourage to find a real agreement, mostly on the salary.

“So, in these last weeks, the feeling was more about the end of the road for Messi in PSG. This trip to Saudi Arabia just confirms it, there is no turning back now.”

HOW ABOUT SAUDI ARABIA?

He’s already been there once, and in a financial sense it appears to be the most likely next move for Messi.

The prospect of going head-to-head with long-term rival Cristiano Ronaldo will have the Saudis salivating, and Thursday's edition of the paper round discusses a record-breaking contract for Messi to play in the Saudi Pro League and become the highest-paid footballer in history.

The Telegraph claims that talks are underway for an astonishing $400 million (£320m) per year deal that would smash Ronaldo's £165m-a-year contract with Al-Nassr. Al-Nassr's rivals, Al-Hilal would be the most likely Saudi destination in a bid to recreate the famous Barcelona-Real Madrid rivalry which the duo shared in Spain