We knew things were bad at the Camp Nou between the Barcelona players and the board. We knew that Lionel Messi was upset but still we were shocked when the news came out that Messi had activated a clause in his contract that would allow him to leave on a free transfer this summer.
Although his contract is set to expire at the end of the 2020-21 season, Messi and his legal team believe the clause will allow him to terminate his deal unilaterally.
Paris Saint-Germain manager Thomas Tuchel has declared Lionel Messi is “very welcome” to join the club should the Barcelona star decide to pursue a move away from Camp Nou.
The Argentine legend has once again been linked with a possible Barca exit after seeing his side end the season without a trophy and lose 8-2 to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Tuchel himself failed to guide his side past Bayern on Sunday as the Bundesliga giants claimed their sixth Champions League title with a 1-0 win over PSG.
Edinson Cavani and Thiago Silva are set to leave Paris St-Germain this summer after the conclusion of the club’s Champions League campaign in August.
The 33-year-old Cavani is PSG’s record scorer with 200 goals and the 35-year-old Silva is club captain.
“It was a difficult decision to make – they are players who made their mark on the club’s history,” sporting director Leonardo told Le Journal du Dimanche.
“The stories were so beautiful. But, yes, we are coming to the end.”
Paris Saint-Germain have finally completed the signing of Mauro Icardi from Inter for a reported €58m making this the biggest transfer in football since the coronavirus outbreak.
“FC Internazionale Milano announces the transfer of Mauro Icardi to Paris Saint-Germain FC: the striker, born in 1993, has permanently moved to the French club,” read a statement.
“The Club thanks the player for the six seasons he spent with us and wishes him the best for his future professional career.”
Icardi had been a huge success at Inter where he had scored 124 goals in 219 starts, but the incredibly short statement from the club reflected just how badly the relationship had deteriorated.
Chelsea are reportedly in the hunt for Mauro Icardi, as PSG struggle to agree a permanent transfer for the on loan striker with his parent club Inter Milan.
The Argentina international joined the Ligue 1 champions, awarded the 2019-20 title after the season in France was cancelled last month, on a season-long-loan at a cost of €13m, scoring 20 goals in 31 competitive games. PSG had an option to make the loan permanent for €70m.
With Edinson Cavani leaving on a free transfer, PSG are keen to do a deal but don’t want to pay the full price, and had an offer of €50m plus €10m in bonuses rejected by Inter last week, who want the full price for the Argentina international.
Paris Saint-Germain are reportedly ready to ask Inter Milan to either extend Mauro Icardi’s season-long loan for another campaign or reduce the sum of the option-to-buy clause in his contract.
Icardi joined the Ligue 1 side during the summer on a season-long loan after being left out of Antonio Conte’s plans at Inter Milan, losing his place to Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez in attack.
The Argentine has done well during his season with PSG, who now the club want to re-negotiate the terms of his loan deal, according to L’Equipe.
Paris St Germain have been crowned champions of Ligue 1 after the French football season ended early due to the coronavirus crisis.
PSG had a 12-point lead over second-placed Marseille when the season was suspended as part of the French government’s measures to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Didier Quillot, chief executive of the French League, said:
“We have decided there would be two promotions and two relegations.
The two teams who will be relegated from Ligue 1 are Amiens and Toulouse while Lens and Lorient will be promoted, while will drop down to Ligue 2.
The 2019-20 Ligue 1 season in France has been cancelled after the prime minister Edouard Philippe announced football games, even behind closed doors, will not be allowed before September.
France has now joined the Netherlands, Belgium and Argentina in announcing the 2019-20 season is already over.
Last week, the French Professional Football League (LFP) announced plans for Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 to resume on June 17, with UEFA setting a deadline of August 2 for domestic leagues to be completed.
Inter Milan are desperate to sell former captain Mauro Icardi, but they don’t want to sell him to domestic rival.
Which is why when Inter sent Icardi on loan to PSG last summer, they included a clause that if PSG purchased Icardi and then immediately sold him to another Serie A club, that Inter would receive an additional €15m.
To take Icardi on loan, PSG paid a €13m loan fee and covered his wages. Icardi for his part settled in well in Lique 1, scoring 20 goals and adding four assists in 31 competitive games.
The richest football club in the world, Paris Saint-Germain, are expecting to to suffer massive financial losses because of the coronavirus crisis according to their chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi.
Al-Khelaifi is involved in negotiations to break the stalemate between France’s professional clubs and TV rights holders Canal+ and beIN Sports after the pair refused to pay the latest installment in their agreement because no fixtures are taking place.
Consequently, teams in Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 are under very serious financial threat with state-aided partial unemployment and a freeze on employers’ charges related to players’ salaries all that is keeping some afloat.