Highly priced free agents

WITH just over a month to the end of the European football season - the curtains will come down with the Champions League final on June 11 - the buzz now is about where some of the big names will be next season.

Many are at the end of their contracts and have to look around for new teams, or hope their current teams decide to keep them on.

And no name is bigger than that of Lionel Messi, who seems certain to be moving away from Paris. His new destination is likely to be his old hunting ground of Barcelona – the club he served from boyhood but there are other suitors, both in the US and in the Middle-East.

Messi, however, is not the only one whose contract comes to an end in June. His PSG teammate Sergio Ramos will also be out of contract, as will the Real Madrid trio of Karim Benzema, Luca Modric and Tony Kroos. Benzema has no problems. He has agreed a 12-month extension and will likely leave Real in 2024, and there are big offers being lined up for the 35-year-old. In fact, he has just turned down a huge offer from Saudi Arabia.

German Kroos, now 33, has also agreed to stay on for a year and may hang up his boots after that. In the English Premier League, Liverpool midfielder Firmino has already announced that he will be leaving Liverpool at the end of his contract while Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea has just turned down a new offer with a lower salary.

The question is: Will United try to keep him, especially after that howler against Sevilla in the Europa League quarter-final? Messi, of course, is the talk of Europe and his recent arrival in Barcelona - with his family and 14 suitcases - has set tongues wagging. He is said to be there for a festival, but Barcelona fans are already celebrating the return of their “Messi-ah”.

Reports say his children have already been pulled out of their schools in Paris and re-registered in their old Barcelona schools. All indications point to his return to boyhood club in La Liga - if the league’s rules allow it. He was seen having “supper” with Barcelona players Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, both good friends.

Barcelona, however, are caught in a huge financial crunch and have to offload players and raise a tonne of money before they can hire Messi. Franck Kessie, Raphinha and Andreas Christensen may be the ones to make way for the Argentine genius. Messi will take a huge pay cut but he cannot play for free – even if he wants to. And Messi wants things settled quickly.

Barcelona, meanwhile, have other fish to fry too. Firmino has reportedly agreed to join the Catalan side too, although rivals Real are preparing a “lucrative offer” for him. Firmino, 31, has been at Liverpool since 2015 but wants a change of atmosphere although the Reds would love to keep the man who had scored 109 goals in 360 appearances for them.

Messi’s PSG teammate Ramos, who joined the team two years ago as a free agent, would like to stay on but he has not received a contract extension offer from the club, although he has been a reliable defender for the reigning French champions. Even if the Parisian side make an offer, it may not be as lucrative as the current one. That could see the 37-year-old Spanish defender looking towards Saudi Arabia and his old Real Madrid buddy Cristiano Ronaldo, who is now with Al-Nassr. He could find himself in Riyadh with another ex-Real buddy - Luca Modric, who is also 37.

It has been reported that a club from Saudi Arabia have offered Modric a bumper two-year deal which would see him pocket a handsome salary of ¢50mil (RM244mil) ahead of the summer transfer window. Modric, though, would prefer to continue at Real, according to veteran sports journalist Fabrizio Romano, who quoted the Croatian maestro as saying: “I want to stay at Real Madrid, I hope it will happen.”

Recent reports suggest that Real, too, are keen on keeping the legend around although he would play a diminished role if Jude Bellingham joins from Borussia Dortmund. While these are all outfield players, David de Gea is a goalkeeper whose contract is running out, along with - one could say - his luck.

Although he was in the winning side in the 7-6 penalty shootout FA Cup semi-final win over Brighton, De Gea did not save a single shot from the spot, although he did pull off a few saves in the goalless game. His performance in the Europa League against Sevilla left some claiming the 32-year-old Spaniard was just not good enough at the highest level. United are already scouting around for goalkeepers after De Gea rejected a £9m (RM50mil)-a-year pay cut.

His current contract, which nets him around £375,000 (RM2mil) per week, expires in the summer but United are said have offered a new contract of around the £250,000 (RM1.3mil ) per week - over £100,000 (RM551,000) less per week. If he baulks, De Gea could be left looking around for a new club. He, too, could look at the new horizon called Saudi Arabia.

Teams in the kingdom have already made offers to a string of football’s most high-profile stars. In addition to the most high-profile offer - Al-Hilal’s stunning ¢400mil (RM2bil) a year offer to Lionel Messi - Modric, Ramos and Benzema have all received sizeable offers. Ronaldo’s Al Nassr are also said to eyeing N’Golo Kante, if talks between Chelsea and the player fail. It’s going to be frenetic when the transfer window opens.