Lionel Messi ‘accepts £260m-a-year megadeal to join Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal’ when he leaves PSG

Lionel Messi will reportedly sign for Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal this summer after accepting a megadeal worth £260million-a-year.

The 35-year-old Argentine World Cup winner will depart Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season and, according to reports in Spain, will snub Barcelona and head to the Middle East.

According to El Chiringuito TV, Messi will accept the proposal tabled by the four-time Asian Champions League winners and follow his old rival Cristiano Ronaldo to Saudi.

The report also said he will be joined there by his former Barcelona team-mate Sergio Busquets, who will accept a two-season deal, and potentially also Jordi Alba.

It emerged last week that Messi will end his two-season stay in Paris at the end of the campaign, with Barcelona’s interest no secret and MLS club Inter Miami also linked.

If the reports are confirmed, Messi will accept the lucrative offer from Saudi Arabia’s most successful team.

Messi is already a tourism ambassador for the country, paid £25m-a-year to do so, and it was an unauthorised visit to Riyadh last week that trigged his exit from the Parc des Princes.

On Friday, Messi apologised in a social media message to the club and his team-mates for missing the training session.

‘I thought we were going to have a day off after the game as always,’ Messi began in the 39-second clip shared onto his Instagram story.

‘I had this trip organised and I couldn’t cancel it. I had already cancelled it before. I apologise to my team-mates and I’m waiting for what the club wants to do with me.’

The apology was accepted and, after Messi missed PSG’s 3-1 win over Troyes on Sunday, he returned to training with them on Monday.