PARIS, France — Lionel Messi landed in Paris on
Tuesday with the 34-year-old Argentinian superstar set to sign a deal with
Paris Saint-Germain following his departure from boyhood club Barcelona.
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Messi arrived at Le Bourget airport to the north of the
French capital around 3:30 pm (1330 GMT) and was greeted by hundreds of
PSG supporters who had gathered hoping to catch a glimpse of their new signing.
Messi, who waved to the crowds while sporting a Paris
t-shirt, was then expected to undergo a medical before his signing could be
made official by the Qatar-backed club.
Messi's father Jorge, who is also his agent, earlier
confirmed the inevitable as he arrived at Barcelona's El Prat airport to board
a flight to France.
Asked by reporters if his son would sign for the French
club, he replied: "Yes."
PSG are set to unveil Messi at a press conference at their
Parc des Princes stadium on Wednesday.
He is expected to sign an initial two-year deal, and the
completion of his move will close a whirlwind few days following the
announcement last Thursday that he would leave Barcelona, the club he has
represented for the entirety of his 17-year professional career.
PSG's move for Messi had been an open secret for days,
although reports in Spain on Monday night talked of a "final offer"
by Barcelona to try to keep the player.
Instead, the six-time Ballon d'Or winner will join a PSG
attack already featuring Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
PSG see Messi as the missing piece in their jigsaw as they
chase the Champions League, the trophy they want more than anything else.
"Back together," Neymar, who played with Messi at
Barcelona before moving to PSG in 2017, posted on Twitter.
Coming to terms
Barcelona are still coming to terms with the departure of
their greatest ever player, who said goodbye to his club of two decades at a
tearful news conference on Sunday.
Despite offering to cut his salary by half to seal a new
five-year contract with Barcelona, the deal foundered on Spanish league salary
cap rules.
Barcelona, carrying debts of 1.2 billion euros ($1.41 billion),
are unable to register new signings because of their financial predicament.
With Abu Dhabi-owned Manchester City having ruled themselves
out, PSG were about the only club who could afford what is expected to be a
deal worth 35 million euros ($41 million) a year.
"I gave everything for Barcelona from the first day
that I arrived right to the last. I never imagined having to say goodbye,"
Messi said on Sunday.
"I have still not come to terms with the reality
of leaving this club now — I love this club."
He leaves Barcelona with 672 goals in 778 appearances, a
record tally for one club.
Messi won 35 trophies at the Camp Nou after joining Barca
aged 13, but his last appearance was a damp squib: a 2-1 home defeat behind
closed doors against Celta Vigo in May.
His trophy haul includes four Champions Leagues and 10 La
Liga titles.
"It will be difficult to see him in another shirt than
that of Barca," Messi's old Barcelona team-mate Andres Iniesta, now
playing in Japan, told AFP in an interview on Tuesday.
"As a player he just transcended everything. I've not
seen a player like him — and I don't think I ever will. You look at what he did
and for so long..."
'Extraordinary for Ligue 1'
Messi, who flew in to Paris with his wife and three
children, is now preparing for a new life in Paris and in Ligue 1.
His arrival makes PSG even more obvious favourites to
reclaim a French title they missed out on last season to Lille.
Some in Ligue 1 have mixed feelings about the impending
arrival of arguably the greatest player of all time.
"It's extraordinary for Ligue 1," said Metz coach
Frederic Antonetti.
"But for a purist like me, Messi should have finished
his career at Barcelona."
This summer PSG have already added veteran Spanish defender
Sergio Ramos from Real Madrid and Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, the
star of Euro 2020.
They have also signed Liverpool midfielder Georginio
Wijnaldum, snatching the Dutchman from under the noses of Barcelona, and spent
60 million euros on Inter Milan right-back Achraf Hakimi, who scored on his PSG
league debut at the weekend.
An added attraction in moving to Paris is that coach
Mauricio Pochettino, like Messi, started his career at Newell's Old Boys in
Rosario, Argentina.
Messi could be unveiled to supporters on Saturday, when PSG
host Strasbourg and a full house of nearly 48,000 will be allowed in for the
first time since the coronavirus pandemic struck 18 months ago.
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