The Saudi Football Federation has reacted to talk of Lionel Messi being reunited with Cristiano Ronaldo in the Middle East.
Portuguese superstar Ronaldo signed the most lucrative contract in sports after signing for Saudi club Al-Nassr. There has been speculation to suggest that his deal could be topped by a £246 million ($305m) approach for Messi from Al-Hilal – with the Argentine World Cup winner yet to sign a new contract at Paris Saint-Germain
Ibrahim Alkassim, the general secretary of the Saudi Football Federation says he is unaware of such an offer being readied for Messi.
He told Marca:
WHAT THEY SAID: The Saudi football chief has told Marca: “At the moment we do not know anything about a possible Lionel Messi arrival. Although I do not hide that, as Saudi Federation, we would like to have him one day in the domestic league. The idea of the Federation is always to improve our football, and of course we would like to see Cristiano and Messi in the same league again, but the truth is that we don’t know anything now.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Messi is still expected to agree fresh terms with PSG at some stage, with the 35-year-old South American set to remain in France for at least one more year.
“At the moment we do not know anything about a possible Lionel Messi arrival. Although I do not hide that, as Saudi Federation, we would like to have him one day in the domestic league. The idea of the Federation is always to improve our football, and of course we would like to see Cristiano and Messi in the same league again, but the truth is that we don’t know anything now.”
