Messi’s nod to Mbappe shows they’re on the same page
They celebrated Mbappe’s record-breaking goal together
Kylian Mbappe continues to dazzle at PSG and on Saturday he made history as he scored the fourth goal in the 4-2 win over Nantes and is already the top scorer with 201 strikes.
The 24-year-old French striker arrived at PSG in August 2017 and quickly showed signs of his quality, and already in his sixth season he made history.
The previous record belonged to Edinson Cavani, who scored 200 goals in his time at the club, now surpassed by the man who is set to become one of the biggest stars in world football today, or already is.
Congratulations
And one of the teammates who congratulated him for achieving the feat was Leo Messi.
The Argentine chose to post a photo of the two of them celebrating together on social media.
“Congratulations Kylian Mbappe on the record,” he captioned the post.
The message currently has 8.5 million likes, but one in particular stands out: the Frenchman responded to Messi’s message with three hearts, which also collected almost 70,000 likes.
The two men are on good terms as the key moment of the season arrives, when they will have to come back from the 1-0 deficit against Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie at the Parc des Princes.
Beckham and MLS are not giving up on Messi: We will use every possible means to convince him
His contract with PSG runs until the end of the season
Lionel Messi‘s future is still up in the air following Paris Saint-Germain‘s Champions League elimination at the hands of Bayern Munich earlier this week.
The Argentina captain has yet to agree on a contract extension and he has been linked with a move to MLS side Inter Miami, co-owned by Manchester United legend David Beckham.
L’Equipe has reported that Inter Miami are aware than Messi‘s potential arrival would boost the MLS brand image and the American franchise “are using every possible means to convince him”.
“He has clearly become the number one priority of Jorge Mas, the main owner of Inter Miami,” the French newspaper explains.
“The first talks date back to June 2021, before Messi signed for PSG. Since then, talks have resumed and Jorge Mas spent a lot of time with Messi‘s entourage during the World Cup in Qatar in December.”
Meanwhile, MLS commissioner Don Garber has stressed that clubs have the flexibility to look for new formulas to convince and lure stars to the league.
“Teams have the flexibility to do unique things,” Garber told The Athletic.
“MLS is a single entity. If you’re selling something that the collective owns, the collective has to approve that. So whatever [Inter Miami owner] Jorge [Mas] decides, with [MLS executive vice president Todd Durbin’s] help to structure something, if we have the opportunity to do that, it’s going to be outside the box.
“Because as you all know what’s going on in international football today, with [Cristiano] Ronaldo at $100m [a year] … the transfer market is just exploding in ways that are unimaginable.
“We’re going to have to structure a deal that’s going to compensate him in ways that he and his family expect. What that is? Honestly, we don’t know today, but he’s probably not going to be a [targeted allocation money] player.”
Toronto FC‘s Lorenzo Insigne is currently the highest earner in MLS with a salary of $14 million per year. In order to offer Messi a more lucrative contract, The Athletic explains that Inter Miami could provide him with an attractive package that could include real estate around the club’s new stadium or additional sponsorship deals.
