Paris Saint-Germain have reportedly decided to allow Lionel Messi to leave Parc des Princes this summer.
The Argentina legend will be out of contract in June and has shown no sign of extending his deal despite PSG offering him a contract extension.
With Messi seemingly not interested in signing a new deal, the Parisians have now decided to no longer prioritise a new deal for him, according to a report by the Mirror.
Instead, PSG are now prioritising signing the best French footballers and are putting a greater emphasis on playing youngsters developed by the club, who are opening a new state-of-the-art academy this year.
As per the report, the club’s president Nasser Al-Khelaifi is overseeing the change in approach at the club and wants the club to refocus their strategy to prioritise signing younger players.
This process started about 12 months ago when they focused on signing players under age 26. Of their six summer arrivals, 26-year-old Fabian Ruiz was the oldest. Several players also exited as the first-team squad was trimmed down. The majority of those departures were loan deals expected to lead to permanent sales this summer for those not out of contract.
The list also mainly had players in their 30s or approaching that age, with Mauro Icardi, Keylor Navas, Georginio Wijnaldum, Leandro Paredes, Julian Draxler and Ander Herrera players who have been there for long.
Meanwhile, PSG remains keen on making French superstar Kylian Mbappe the face of their new project. The Ligue 1 side tied the 24-year-old to a new two-year contract plus the option to extend for an extra year, through to 2025, last summer.
The club do not want to lose Mbappe this summer and will be desperate to tie him to a longer deal to ensure the saga of last summer does not repeat.
While Mbappe is desperately needed at the club, PSG may be forced to sell Brazil superstar Neymar this summer. The Brazilian has suffered another campaign blighted by injuries and could be moved on this summer.
He is one of the club’s top earners and carries a high status, and remains the most expensive player in the world following his £ 198 million switch from Barcelona in 2017. But he has been too inconsistent at Parc des Princes, mainly due to his poor injury record.
