PSG offering Lionel Messi a contract extension is CRAZY - the brand is not more important than glory

To understand the current contractual situation, one needs to understand the PSG project.

When club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi made his first media appearance following Qatar Sports Investments' (QSI) 2011 takeover, he insisted that the new enterprise wasn't concerned with signing existing superstars like Messi, but trying to unearth the next generation of gems.

And yet PSG still went out and picked up the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and David Beckham to boost their prospects of success on and off the field.

Al-Khelaifi's commercial goal was to turn the club into a household name across the globe, like adidas and Nike, as underlined by PSG's partnership with Air Jordan – a deal he masterminded in an attempt to capitalise on the huge interest in basketball in the North American and Asian markets.

He also looked to the NBA for inspiration when it came to catering for and communicating with fans at the stadium. Al-Khelaifi closely observed what would happen at half-time, how they were selling food, how they would take orders, what they were wearing, whether fans could order from their seats.

Those close to him say he is obsessed with the smallest details and compare him to a sponge, constantly soaking up information, always pushing PSG to replicate the field-leading work being done elsewhere or, more often than not, asking whether they can do it better.

PSG also view themselves as 'the club of the new generation' because of the way in which they have tapped into the tastes of younger people. Ten years ago, for example, they had 500,000 followers. That's now shot up to more than 140 million.

PSG feel they are connecting and engaging with younger football fans in very different ways to other clubs. They target specific markets in specific ways. For example, in Japan, where they have three standalone stores, they work with local designers to produce high-quality gear that appeals to Japanese youngsters.

Al-Khelaifi, though, remains adamant that PSG are a French institution first and foremost. In meetings with Nike, he has been known to request the addition of symbols or flags related to France or Paris to remind everyone of this global brand's roots.

He even demanded that the food provided in the VIP area at the Parc des Princes come from the very best French caterers. When he hosts dinners, meanwhile, he chooses both the restaurant and the chef. Again, everything needs to be perfect and to reflect the very best that France has to offer.

The net result is that more and more celebrities are turning up to games wearing club merchandise, and, not because they've been paid to promote PSG – something the club says it never does – but because they 'like' the brand.

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However, the importance of superstar signings simply cannot be overstated because, as even PSG have admitted themselves, they cannot boast the same history or pedigree as the traditional super-powers of European football.

They did not start out with anything like the same global fan-base, so they had to recruit high-profile players to draw attention to the Parc des Princes.

As a big fish operating in a small pond, they also needed European success to give credibility to the club. Ligue 1 titles were no longer enough for a team with a budget that dwarfed all of their rivals in France.

However, while their spending sprees sent shockwaves through the world of football, Champions League success continued to elude them (Al-Khelaifi promised they would lift the trophy inside five years), they decided to go nuclear.

In the summer of 2017, PSG signed both Neymar and Kylian Mbappe for record-breaking fees, believing that the pair would elevate the club to a whole other sporting and commercial plane.

It nearly worked, too, with PSG narrowly beaten by Bayern Munich in the final after establishing themselves as one of the biggest clubs in world football.

However, after a dire 2020-21 season which exposed obvious flaws in their policy of investing too heavily in a select few superstars, PSG doubled down, by signing the best player in the world.

Messi may have been free but he arrived on a colossal contract...

Messi's appeal as a player was obvious. He may have just turned 33 but he remained – and remains – a phenomenon.

The prospect of playing alongside good friend Neymar and heir apparent Mbappe was mouth-watering was thrilling, and not just for PSG supporters – but football fans all across the globe.

And that's precisely why the commercial considerations simply cannot be overlooked.

We often talk about the 'Cristiano Ronaldo' effect because the Portuguese has moved regularly enough during the past five years but 'The Lionel Messi' effect was there for all to see after the first transfer of his professional career.

PSG sold one million Messi-printed shirts within six months, with the club's sponsorship director Marc Armstrong telling GOAL that demand exceeded supply. "If we could produce more," he said in December 2021, "we would sell even more."

In addition, new partnerships were agreed with the likes of Autohero, Smart Good Things and Gorillas.

"We immediately had a significant increase in offers and even before he officially signed in Paris, there were a lot of requests," Armstrong revealed.

"We have really felt an impact in all of our business areas: from sponsorship and merchandising to hospitality and ticketing."

PSG also gained 20 million followers on their social media channels in the first week after Messi's arrival, and that figure continued to climb by one million a month thereafter.

"We had the highest engagement rate in the history of player announcements," Armstrong enthused, "all club and player accounts combined."

For all of the hysteria surrounding his signing, though, Messi's first season in France did not go well, as he admitted himself.

The Copa America and contracting Covid-19 took a heavy toll on his fitness, he was hindered by niggling injuries and struggled to settle in Paris.

His contribution and commitment to the cause were called into question, by pundits and supporters alike.

However, after enjoying an extended summer break and proper pre-season, he returned to the Parc des Princes in better shape, mentally and physically.

He scored 11 times before the World Cup break and appeared to be revelling playing in a PSG side that was flying under new coach Christophe Galtier, going unbeaten during the first half of the season.

Consequently, it appeared highly likely that Messi would extend his stay in Paris for a further season, until the summer of 2024.

Indeed, as GOAL revealed before the conclusion of Argentina's triumphant World Cup campaign, PSG had already decided to formally offer the forward a new deal as soon as the tournament ended.

Al-Khelaifi was also in attendance as Messi lifted the trophy in Qatar and requested the player's presence at a meeting to discuss his future.

At that stage, PSG were even hopeful of wrapping up negotiations before the end of the year.

Things have changed, though. A lot. A seemingly inevitable contract extension has quickly become controversial, with many fans feeling that Messi simply used PSG to prepare himself for the World Cup.

PSG suffering an embarrassing last-16 exit in the Champions League is hardly a rare event. However, this year's elimination was a little different.

There was no capitulation this time around; just meek submission.

And while Kylian Mbappe and several other players turned in shocking performances in the second-leg loss at Bayern Munich, Messi bore the brunt of the criticism for what was perceived as his latest 'disappearing act'.

Messi is obviously not PSG's primary problem but, in the eyes of the supporters, he has come to personify the club's 'Bling-bling' transfer policy.

As PSG fan Mathieu told GOAL on Sunday, "Messi is more of a commercial signing than a sporting one. He ends up representing everything we hate about the QSI project for the past three or four years."

That's obviously harsh on Messi and club sources have told GOAL that they cannot understand why the Argentine has become a regular target of the boo boys.

However, the fans feel that the former Barcelona captain has done little to suggest that he has any real love for them, or the club.

He has only gone to acknowledge their support once over the past year, and even that was at the behest of Neymar.

"It's not worthy of a World Champion and does not set a good example," Mathieu added.

The fans also feel that the squad would be far better served by reducing Messi's salary from the wage bill because, as it stands, PSG would need to cut costs by almost 30 per cent in order to match the Argentine's current pay packet.

The fact of the matter remains, though, that PSG would like to retain Messi's services, even just for purely commercial purposes.

He remains a marketing team's dream, with his status and popularity having only increased following his World Cup win.

There's also the fact that he could yet end up winning an eighth Ballon d'Or, which would only add to both his and PSG's prestige.

So, if PSG have to offload one of their lavishly remunerated attackers this summer, they would obviously much rather ditch Neymar. GOAL revealed they were even open to selling the Brazilian last summer.

However, the problem was, and remains, a total lack of concrete interest and credible buyers.

The idea of buying out Neymar's contract was even mooted but, from PSG's perspective, that would defeat the purpose, as it would mean handing over the money they're trying to save by getting him off their books.

PSG have a problem, then. Messi is absolutely integral to the project in its current guise, a money-making marketing tool that keeps the commercial revenue coming in – the kind of income that PSG are particularly dependent upon given the relatively low value of the Ligue 1 TV rights deals.

So, it's hardly surprising that no announcement has yet been made on his future given his continued presence could affect the extension of existing commercial contracts, or the agreement of new partnerships.

However, it's clear that continuing with Messi, Neymar and Mbappe is unsustainable from a sporting and economic perspective.

Someone's got to go this summer, and the smart money's on Messi. A buyer for Neymar is unlikely to suddenly emerge: he's an injury-prone 31-year-old winger with massive wage demands. And PSG can't afford to lose Mbappe, meaning they can't afford to keep Messi, as he's unwilling to take a pay cut.

He's fully aware of his value, both as a player and a brand, while he also wants assurances over the strength of the sporting project going forward, and rightly so in light of recent results.

He wants to continue playing at the highest level in Europe, and for a team capable of winning the Champions League, which is why he's unlikely to move to the Middle East this summer, despite the lucrative offer he's received to continue his career in Saudi Arabia.

Barca, then, would appear to fit the bill, given they're practically begging him to come back to Camp Nou.

It's a move that makes sense for Messi, but also PSG, because while they would be loath to lose him, keeping him would be crazy.

The commercial consequences would obviously be significant, and potentially damaging, at least in the short term, but the club needs to seriously reconsider its current strategy.

QSI are understandably proud of the way in which they have transformed the relatively small enterprise they acquired for €70m (£60m/$83m) in 2011 into a major brand that Forbes estimates will be worth €2.2bn (£1.9bn/$2.6m) by the end of the decade.

However, the fact is that their commercial progress has not translated into sporting success. Their superstar-driven approach may have worked off the field, but it's proven a spectacular failure on it.

And that's hurting the brand too now, as PSG have become synonymous with embarrassing European exits.

More importantly, they've also alienated the domestic fanbase, meaning a radical rethink is required if they are to avoid losing the backing of those that have literally supported this project over the past 12 years.

PSG need to ask themselves: what kind of club do they want to be? Because signing superstars keeps producing the same dismal results. And the fans are fed up.

It's surely time to try something different? It's surely time to focus on football rather than finance? It's surely time to build a team, rather than a brand?...