Paris Saint-Germain are reportedly set to put as many as 10 players on their transfer list as they seek to fund the mega-money signing of Lionel Messi.
The Ligue 1 side are hoping to wrap up a deal for the Argentine superstar within the next 48 hours after his surprise departure from Barcelona.
Messi’s contract expired at the end of last season, with the Catalan club unable to clear his new deal past the La Liga salary cap rules, despite the 34-year-old agreeing to a significant pay cut.
PSG are now in pole position to sign one of the best players in football history, with Messi expected to be playing at the Parc Des Princes this season.
Messi would be the club’s sixth signing of the transfer window, following a £50million move for Inter Milan full-back Achraf Hakimi as well as the statement free agent signings of Sergio Ramos, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Georginio Wijnaldum.
Following those moves, they are now also set to hand a highly lucrative deal, which is believed to be worth £22m per year.
To complete their move for Messi though, it appears that they will now have to move on as many as 10 players in order to fund it.
According to The Athletic, PSG believe that the commercial revenue brought in by Messi should virtually pay for the signing.
Despite that though, it is stated that the Ligue 1 side now have as many as 10 players available for transfer as they seek to bring down their wage bill.
The Ligue 1 side are said to “conscious” that top clubs across Europe are struggling to move on players on the fringes of their squads.
Barca themselves are trying to offload roughly 12 players as they attempt to recover from their disastrous financial situation, with Real Madrid City also open to deals for a sizeable number of their squad.
While those teams have found the market to be challenging, PSG “anticipate” interest in the players they are looking to move on.
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Among those who appear to be on their way out of the French capital are Abdou Diallo, Thilo Kehrer, Idrissa Guana Gueye and Rafinha.
Former Inter striker Mauro Icardi and Ander Herrera, previously of Manchester United, could be “expendable” but are keen to stay at the Parc Des Princes.
The 10 players up for sale does not include French star Kylian Mbappe, despite the attacker entering the final year of his contract.
Instead, PSG are understood to be hopeful that the arrival of Messi will help them to convince Mbappe to extend his stay in his home country.
They have already sold Mitchell Bakker to Bayer Leverkusen, with Alphonse Aerola departing on loan to West Ham.
But with Messi demanding a hefty contract fee, more departures will be needed if they are to avoid the fate that befell Barcelona this summer.
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