Al-Haili: It is surprising that Messi would reject such a huge offer!

The president of the Saudi Al-Ittihad Football Club, Anmar Al-Haili, revealed the offer made by the Saudi Al-Hilal team to the Argentine star Lionel Messi to join the ranks of “Al-Zaeem” last summer.

Messi left Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2023 in a free transfer, and was close to returning to Barcelona in addition to receiving an offer from Al Hilal, but “The Flea” preferred to leave for the American club Inter Miami.

Al-Haili confirmed, in statements to the American channel NBC, that a huge offer was made to Messi worth 1.4 billion euros to join the ranks of the Saudi Al-Hilal.

Al-Haili said: “Al-Hilal had already contacted Messi at the end of his contract with Paris. It made him an offer worth 1.4 billion euros, but the player refused because of his family’s desire to move to the American League.”

Al-Haili expressed his astonishment at Messi's decision, adding: "It is surprising that the player would reject such a huge offer for the sake of his family, but he did not hesitate to refuse. We respect that, because family is more important than money."

The federation president continued: “This shows the extent of the influence of Messi’s family on his professional decisions, and his great loyalty to them.”

It is noteworthy that Lionel Messi (36 years old) is preparing to face Canada at the opening of the 2024 Copa America and is aiming to repeat the achievement of the last edition and achieve the championship.