Argentina's Football Star Messi Signs Two Year Contract With French Club Paris Saint Germain

New Delhi: Last week when Argentina’s most popular forward Lionel Messi bid farewell to his 21 years relationship with FC Barcelona, he was in tears, but within few days he signed a two year contract with France’s Paris Saint-Germain club.Messi has the option of an additional year. that  “I am excited to begin a new chapter of his life at PSG. Everything about the club matches my football ambitions,”  Messi said in a statement on the club’s website. The interesting part of this contract is that 34 years old Messi will wear the number 30 jersey, the number he had when he began his professional career at FC Barcelona. He also said,  “I know how talented the squad and the coaching staff are here.I am determined to help build something special for the club and the fans, and I am looking forward to stepping out onto the pitch at the Parc des Princes.” Messi's father Jorge, who is also his agent, had earlier confirmed the inevitable as he arrived at Barcelona's El Prat airport to board a flight to France. Asked by reporters if his son would sign for the French club, he replied: “Yes”.

Messi was given a hero's welcome by the PSG fans when he arrived in the French capital on Tuesday. Messi, who was a free agent after his shock departure from boyhood club Barcelona last week, landed at Le Bourget airport to the north of Paris on Tuesday afternoon.

There he was greeted by hundreds of PSG supporters who had gathered hoping to catch a glimpse of their new signing.

Those fans also gathered outside the club's Parc des Princes home and near a plush hotel in the city where Messi along with wife Antonella and their three children are expected to be staying.  Messi waved to crowds while sporting a Paris t-shirt on his arrival at the airport before being taken for his medical.

Six-time Ballon d'Or winner will join a PSG attack already featuring Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. Qatar-backed PSG see Messi as the missing piece in their jigsaw as they chase the Champions League, the trophy they want more than anything else.

With Abu Dhabi-owned Manchester City having ruled themselves out, PSG was the only club that could afford what is expected to be a deal worth 35 million euros ($41 million) a year.

He leaves Barcelona with 672 goals in 778 appearances, a record tally for one club. Messi won 35 trophies at the Camp Nou after joining Barca aged 13, but his last appearance was a damp squib: a 2-1 home defeat behind closed doors against Celta Vigo in May. His trophy haul includes four Champions Leagues and 10 La Liga titles.