Lionel Messi hints at Paris Saint-Germain stay amid Barcelona talk

Lionel Messi has suggested that he is considering signing a new contract with Paris Saint-Germain, having finally now fully settled in France.

The Argentina international's departure from Barcelona in 2021 sent shockwaves around the world of football, with the Catalan outfit unable to renew his contract due to their financial issues.

PSG ultimately signed the 35-year-old on a two-year deal, but he found it difficult to show his best form last term, managing just six goals in Ligue 1, while he ended the campaign with 11 goals and 15 assists in 34 matches.

Messi has been in excellent form for the French champions this term, scoring 12 goals and registering 14 assists in 19 appearances in all competitions.

However, there remains uncertainty surrounding his future, with Barcelona said to be working to re-sign him on a free transfer at the end of the season.

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Inter Miami are also believed to be keen on a deal for the forward, who is currently with the Argentina squad preparing for the 2022 World Cup.

However, Messi has said both he and his family are now settled in Paris, and he is 'enjoying everything' in the French capital, "including football".

"I like Paris a lot more now, I have discovered the city and I find it magnificent," Le Parisien quotes Messi as saying. "In the first year, there was a huge change.

"Things happened very suddenly, it was not my objective to leave Barcelona, and everything about it was very abrupt. After this long period and the difficult times, I am happy to live where I live, and my family and I are enjoying Paris.

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"It was hard at the start, we had stayed all our lives in the same place, I had never moved, and I did not know what it was like to leave.

"We did not expect this, it happened very quickly, and we had to leave Barcelona overnight. We found ourselves in a new environment.

"We had our life in Barcelona, our friends, our habits, and we found ourselves in a different place, with another language, another football, another climate, I suffered a lot from that. It was hard. But, today, I enjoy everything including football."

Messi has netted seven times and registered 10 assists in 13 Ligue 1 appearances for PSG this season, while he struck four goals and registered four assists in five outings in the group stage of the Champions League.

As it stands, the South American would be able to hold talks with foreign clubs in January over a move on a free transfer at the end of the campaign.