The Spanish sports program adds that the Argentine will sign with the Saudi club alongside Busquets. Jordi Alba could also join Al-Hilal if he terminates his contract with Barcelona.
Would Lionel Messi join Al-Hilal? Bringing together the Argentine and Cristiano Ronaldo in the Saudi league and using it as a showcase for promoting a Saudi Arabian bid to host a World Cup in the coming years: the challenge is significant but seems within the economic capacity of the Gulf country.
Already under contract with the Saudi tourism office for promoting the country on social media -that was the purpose of the trip by Messi's family to Riyadh-, the Argentine player is also courted to join the local championship and recreate the legendary rivalry with Cristiano, the star of Al-Nassr since the last transfer window.
Teammate of André Carrillo?
Several media outlets have evoked in recent days the existence of a stratospheric offer from Al-Hilal for André Carrillo, estimated at 400 million euros (about 442 million dollars) per year to attract the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner.
Furthermore, El Chiringuito TV, a famous Spanish sports program, takes for granted that Messi will be a teammate of the 'Culebra' in Al-Hilal.
The journalist Marçal Lorente is the one who provided the information about Messi's rumored arrival at the Saudi team, emphasizing that -so far- Barcelona has not made a formal offer to the 'Pulga'.
Lorente adds that the Argentine will play in Saudi Arabia alongside Sergio Busquets, whose contract with Barça ends in late June. Jordi Alba could also join them, as he would terminate his contract with the Catalan club to join Al-Hilal.
If Lionel Messi's arrival in the Saudi Professional League is confirmed, André Carrillo will be a teammate of the Argentine, Busquets, and probably Jordi Alba in Al-Hilal.
Back to Training
The suspension of Lionel Messi for his Saudi adventure has come to an end, with the PSG star returning to training on Monday, the French club announced on its Twitter account.
"Leo Messi returned to training on Monday morning," the club tweeted, along with a photo of the Argentine superstar in action.
His period away from the group lasted only six days. On Tuesday, he was suspended by PSG due to his unauthorized promotional trip to Saudi Arabia, for which the 'Pulga' apologized in a brief video uploaded to Instagram.
Messi had apologized "to the club" and his "teammates" at PSG, before adding that he was awaiting "the club's decision".
Messi, 35, will finish his contract in June with PSG, and sources agree that he is more likely to leave than to renew.