Messi to Paris Saint-Germain: "We are making history in world football" (Nasser Al-Khelaïfi)

"This is a historic day for the club. The best player in the world is here. (...) Honestly, the club is growing a lot. For ten years, we have grown and now we are even higher. We are making history in world football," said Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, president of Paris Saint-Germain (Ligue 1 Uber Eats), to the French sports daily L'Équipe on 11/08/2021.

The Qatari is delighted that Lionel Messi has signed for the Parisian club (for two seasons + one optional) on 10/08/2021. The Argentinian striker, who is at the end of his contract at FC Barcelona (LaLiga Santander), will be free. His net annual salary is estimated at €41m and his signing bonus at €40m, according to French newspaper Le Parisien.

"If I told you the number of calls that me or my team have received in the last forty-eight hours, it is incredible. Honestly, I didn't believe it myself. Everyone is calling me. Before signing Leo, we did some studies to see what was possible on a commercial level, for sponsors, partners. Many of them are ready to sign extensions with higher prices, etc. But we want to calm things down. Something…