CNN Did Not Report Lionel Messi's Move to the Saudi Club Al-Hilal
The Claim
According to CNN, Lionel Messi will not renew his contract with Paris Saint-Germain and will instead join the Saudi club Al-Hilal.
News posted on
Emerging story
Social media users recently circulated a claim alleging that CNN reported that Lionel Messi will not renew his contract with Paris Saint-Germain and will sign for the Saudi club Al-Hilal.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the circulating claim and found it to be fake.
CNN did not report that Lionel Messi will not renew his contract with Paris Saint-Germain and will instead join Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal Club.
Misbar's team searched within the website's most recently published articles about Lionel Messi and discovered that CNN did not report such a claim.
CNN Reported Messi’s Return to Paris Saint-Germain
On January 4, 2023, CNN published an article about Lionel Messi’s return to Paris Saint-Germain training sessions after winning the World Cup title with Argentina.
Messi's return to PSG comes at an important time for the club, which suffered its first defeat of the season against Lens.
As a result, PSG's lead at the top of the Ligue 1 table has been reduced to just four points.
PSG posted a video on Twitter purporting to show Messi’s return to the club with a warm welcome from his teammates after winning the World Cup.
News of Al Hilal Club’s Offer to Lionel Messi
Arabic media outlets reported that Lionel Messi had received an offer from Al Hilal Saudi Football Club to join the club after his current contract with Paris Saint-Germain expires in June 2023.
According to media articles, the Saudi Club had talks with Messi's father, Jorge, about the possibility of signing the player.
According to Saudi journalist Khalid Al-Diab, Al Hilal's offer to sign Messi surpasses 300 million euros and could reach 400 million euros per year.
Some media articles reported that the Argentine superstar accepted the deal, but he might not sign the contract right away.
The Saudi Professional League
The claim started circulating after Cristiano Ronaldo moved to play in the Saudi Professional League.
Lionel Messi's return to Paris coincides with the unveiling of his long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo with his new club, Al-Nassr.
In a deal estimated to be worth more than 200 million euros, Cristiano Ronaldo signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Al-Nassr FC and became one of the highest-paid footballers in history.
"I had many opportunities in Europe, many clubs – in Brazil, in Australia, US, even in Portugal – many clubs tried to sign me, but I give the word to this club for the opportunity," Ronaldo said.
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