DPA
Berlin
Paris Saint-Germain remain in contract talks with Lionel Messi, with the club’s football advisor Luis Campos hopeful of reaching an agreement.
Messi’s two-year deal with PSG is due to expire at the end of the season, and the 35-year-old has been linked with a move to Major League Soccer side Inter Miami.
A return to Barcelona has also been mooted for Messi, who led Argentina to World Cup glory last year, winning the Golden Ball award following a series of talismanic displays in Qatar.
While reports in December suggested he had reached an agreement in principle to stay with PSG, no announcement has been made on his future beyond this campaign.
Campos has confirmed discussions are ongoing with Messi, who he hopes will renew after recording 29 goal involvements (15 goals, 14 assists) in 24 PSG appearances this season.
"I would like to have him in this project, I cannot hide it, I would be delighted if he continues with us,” Campos told Telefoot.
"But we are still discussing at the moment to achieve this goal, to continue to have Lionel Messi with us.”
PSG came close to recruiting another left-footed attacker as the January transfer window drew to a close, only for a proposed loan move for Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech to fall through.
The Parisians were reportedly foiled by Chelsea’s failure to submit the correct paperwork before the transfer deadline, leaving Campos in no doubt as to the Blues’ responsibility for the failed move.
"We had the player with us, we had done everything,” he said. "But like in all transfers, we need the three parts, player and both clubs, to work well.
"In this case, it worked very well for PSG, it worked well with Ziyech and unfortunately it didn’t work out for the last part.”