Messi To Undergo Medicals At PSG Amid Barcelona's Attempt To Block His Move: Report

Lionel Messi is reportedly scheduled to undergo medicals at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) Monday, while FC Barcelona have filed a case to block their former star's move to France.

The lawyers of Barcelona have filed a complaint to the European Court of Appeals, stating that PSG should be stopped in their chase of Messi based on the Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules, reported soccer website 90Min.

One of Barcelona's lawyers Juan Branco has confirmed that his firm has filed a complaint on behalf of the club.

"On behalf of FC Barcelona partners, my firm has prepared a complaint with the European Commission and demands for provisional suspension before civil and administrative courts in France to prevent Paris Saint-Germain from signing Lionel Messi. PSG's ratio in terms of 'Financial Fair Play' are worse than those of FC Barcelona. In 2019-2020, PSG's salary-to-income ratio was 99%, while Barcelona's was 54%. Meanwhile, the difference has increased. It is inconceivable that the 'Financial Fair Play' serves to aggravate the drifts of football-business, the instrumentalization of football by sovereign powers, and the distortion of competitions," he wrote in a tweet.

On Sunday, Messi, a free agent currently, officially bid goodbye to Barcelona as he held a press conference at Camp Nou. While answering reporters' questions, the 34-year-old forward accepted that negotiations are underway with PSG.

PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino spoke to Messi directly to convince him to accept PSG's offer after Barcelona announced they wouldn't be re-signing the six-time Ballon d'Or winner on Friday, according to Goal.

Messi, who spent 21 years at the Camp Nou side, is set to complete a free transfer with PSG and undergo medicals on Monday, reported French publication L'Equipe.

While Chelsea and Manchester City were also believed to have been interested earlier to sign Messi, the Premier League clubs have backed out, after securing a deal for Romelu Lukaku and signing Jack Grealish respectively. As a result, PSG have managed to swoop in with ease and are understood to be inching closer to sealing a deal for one of the best players in the world.

PSG have also reserved the Eiffel Tower to unveil Messi in the coming days, according to ESPN. This is significant because the Ligue 1 giants did the exact same thing when Neymar signed in 2017. They had reserved the Eiffel Tower for $353,000 back then, in order to unveil their new Brazilian signing.