In the past few weeks, there has been more and more talk about what Lionel Messi will do next.

But on Thursday, Christophe Galtier, the head coach of Paris Saint-Germain, put an end to some of the reports by saying that the star player will leave the club when his contract ends this summer.

Two years ago, Messi showed up wearing a T-shirt that said “Ici C’est Paris” (“This Is Paris”), which is a popular chant among Paris Saint-Germain fans.

Early on, Messi’s appearance got the fans excited, but those cheers turned into jeers and boos later on. The World Cup winner will not play in the last league game for PSG on Saturday against Clermont.

Galtier said, “It was an honor to coach the best player in the history of soccer.” “This will be his last game at the Parc des Princes, and I hope he is welcomed with open arms.”

In August 2021, PSG signed Messi with the goal of finally winning the Champions League. But the team hasn’t reached its goal yet.

Even though PSG won its record-setting 11th French league title last weekend, it was eliminated from Europe’s best event in the round of 16 for the second straight year.

Messi’s trip in France has been bittersweet. Even though he has pretty good stats, many PSG fans see him as a symbol of the team’s flaws and have been jokingly whistling his name a lot in recent weeks.

After having trouble getting used to the French league (the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner only scored six league goals in his first 26 games), Messi got better this season as he and forward Kylian Mbappe learned to work well together.

Messi had a good start to this season, but since coming back from the World Cup, which Argentina won, he hasn’t been as good.

Still, Messi, who is 35 years old, has scored 16 goals and set up 16 goals in 31 league games. Messi scored 21 goals in all games and set up 20 goals for PSG.

Galtier said, “This year, he has been an important part of the team. He has always been available and worked hard during training.” “None of the comments or criticisms are fair,” she said.

Even though Galtier likes Messi, PSG has not always had a good opinion of him.

Last month, the club kicked him out because he went to Saudi Arabia without permission. Messi has a business deal with Saudi Arabia to promote tourism, and there have been rumors that he will move there at the end of the season for a big pay raise.

People have also talked about him going back to Barcelona, where he spent most of his career, or going to the U.S. to play in MLS.

This report was helped by the Associated Press.

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