Messi 'was seriously tempted by late Atletico offer before finalising PSG move'

Lionel Messi was reportedly seriously considering a sensational reunion with best friend Luis Suarez at Atletico Madrid before agreeing to join PSG.

The Argentine star is currently in Paris with his wife and children where he is finalising a move to the Ligue 1 giants and is expected to put pen to paper on a £1million-per-week, two-year deal.

Messi is currently a free agent after failing to agree terms on a new deal with Barcelona, who could not afford to pay him due to their current financial woes. And now it appears that Atletico made a last-gasp bid to try and tempt him to the Wanda Metropolitano, according to Movistar.

Movistar and TNT Sport journalist Ignacio Miguelez has claimed that Atletico boss Diego Simeone even contacted compatriot Messi directly in a bid to bring him to Madrid.

Miguelez goes on to claim that Messi and his family were 'tempted' by the offer of staying in Spain.

The allure of playing alongside Suarez once again – who he played with at Barcelona  – would have been one of the main selling points for the 34-year-old, given the pair became best friends in the process after their time at the Nou Camp.

Suarez and Messi wreaked havoc together up top for Barcelona, which saw the two score a combined total of 478 goals together, lifting 13 trophies since Suarez joined the Catalan club in 2014 in a £75million deal.

Suarez set up Messi to score 47 times while the Argentine repaid the favour by assisting the Uruguayan 37 times in their six-year stint together at the Nou Camp.

However, their relationship on the pitch came to an end when Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman decides Suarez was surplus to requirements last summer and sold him to Atletico.

Suarez would have the last laugh with Atletico after they went on to win LaLiga while Messi was left with the choatic surroundings at Barca.

And with Messi unable to sign a new deal with Barcelona, he was reportedly tempted by a reunion with old pal Suarez.

However, while Atletico were reportedly unsuccessful in their attempts to reunite two old friends, it seems PSG have had no such trouble.

Alongside Messi and Suarez, PSG star Neymar completed one of the most deadly front-threes in all of football, with the trio branded as MSN before Neymar was sold to the Parisian giants for £198m in 2017.

Neymar has long wanted Messi to join him at PSG and it appears the Brazilian has got his wish.

As Messi's camp prepares to put the finishing touches to his move on Tuesday, Neymar could not hide his excitement and seemingly confirmed the switch on Instagram.

He posted a picture of them together, saying 'back together' with a red and blue heart.

Neymar and Messi spent four years together at the Nou Camp. They won two LaLiga titles, three Copa del Reys and a Champions League.

Messi was pictured at Barcelona airport alongside his wife Antonella and their three children, Thiago, eight, Mateo, five, and Ciro, three, on Tuesday.

Antonella later posted a selfie alongside her husband as they sat on their private jet waiting to fly to France.

Sources at the French club confirmed Messi's lawyers had been poring over the contract proposal since Sunday but gave it their approval on Tuesday morning.

The final points of negotiation were understood to have concerned the six-time Ballon d'Or winners image rights, as well as the breakdown of his wages and various bonuses.

Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano confirmed in the hours following Messi's arrival in Paris that he had completed his medical and would move to his hotel to complete formalities over his big-money move, with the player expected to be unveiled as a new PSG player tomorrow morning at 11am, local time.

Messi's annual salary will be in the region of €63m (£53m), putting his earnings at just over £1m a week. He will sit in France's highest tax bracket of 45 per cent, leaving his take-home pay at around £550,000 per week.