But a player reportedly earning about $132 million a year in salary and bonuses could not move just anywhere. He may be 34, but Messi’s performance levels appear to be undimmed by age. With Messi in its star-studded ranks — and even if Mbappé is sold, possibly to Real Madrid, to recoup some of the cost — P.S.G. It spent more than $400 million to acquire Mbappé and Neymar and then surrounded them with even more high-priced talent lured from rivals around Europe. Messi, for example, is joining a team that this summer added the Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, the Netherlands midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum and the Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos.

Source: New York Times August 10, 2021 14:19 UTC