Lionel Messi reportedly makes Saudi Arabia request amid Barcelona links

Lionel Messi may not be ready to jump to Saudi Arabia quite yet. 

International news outlet Goal reported on Monday that Messi has asked Saudi club Al-Hilal "to delay his move there until 2024." That update dropped the same day that Jorge Messi, Lionel's father and agent, said his son "would love to return to Barcelona" this summer. 

Lionel Messi played his last match with French giants Paris Saint-Germain this past Saturday and will become a free agent once his contract expires at the end of June. While the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner who already serves as a Saudi tourism ambassador reportedly had an offer on the table earlier this spring that would pay him roughly $400M annually to feature for Al-Hilal, Goal said Monday that deal could now be worth as much as $541M per year. 

Goal added that Saudi representatives spoke with Messi's camp on Monday and said "their offer next year will be different" if the superstar who turns 36 years old on June 24 postpones his move until after the 2023-24 season. 

It's been said throughout the spring that Messi wants to play in a top-tier domestic league and in the UEFA Champions League next season to stay sharp for the 2024 Copa America. However, Spanish football writer Guillem Balague has repeatedly claimed that financial issues similar to those that prevented Barcelona from holding onto Messi in the summer of 2021 will keep them from re-signing him before the upcoming campaign. 

On Monday, world transfer expert Fabrizio Romano tweeted that "Barcelona were not able (to) present" an official bid to Messi at the start of the midweek. Henry Bushnell of Yahoo Sports later wrote that Barcelona have to sell players and convince Messi to accept "a significant pay cut" to have a realistic chance at completing the homecoming, while The Athletic reported that sources said Messi wants to make his final decision "in the coming week." 

Goal noted that Major League Soccer side Inter Miami is a "possibility" for Messi despite his supposed desire to return to Barcelona. Balague tweeted Monday that the MLS offer includes "intertwined deals with big brands like Apple and Adidas" but is worth far less money than what Messi would earn in Saudi Arabia. In that same post, Balague said that Barcelona re-signing Messi this summer is financially "impossible."