Senior officials from Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal have flown to Paris to seal a mega-deal with a departing superstar with Argentine world champion Lionel Messi. The Saudi delegation is scheduled to meet with Messi's father and his agent, Jorge Messi, with the aim of completing the deal as soon as possible. “There is a Saudi delegation in Paris with one goal – to return with Messi's official approval to the Saudi offer,” a source close to the club said. Another official, who is close to the negotiations, said: "We are in the final stage of the deal. "If everything goes well, Messi will sign his new contract and Al-Hilal will announce it before the weekend." Messi's departure from Qatar-owned Paris-Saint Germain was confirmed on Saturday and he was jeered by a section of the club's fans in his final appearance, a 3-2 defeat by Clermont. According to Saudi media, the Saudi champions' president and his deputy were in the Spanish capital to sign Benzema in a "record transfer with Real Madrid". Last month, a source close to the negotiations in Saudi Arabia told AFP that Messi's signing was a "done deal", describing the contract as "huge". Messi, who lifted the World Cup in Qatar in December, was suspended by Qatari-owned PSG last month for an unauthorized mid-season trip to Saudi, where he is a tourism ambassador.
If the deal takes place, Messi, the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner, will join his historic rival, Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, who joined the Saudi victory in a deal estimated at more than 440 million euros for two and a half years last January. But combining the two is not all that Saudi Arabia wants, which aims to build a strong league that attracts the attention of the world.