Al-Hilal president Fahd Bin Nafel refused to touch upon the potential for signing Lionel Messi, insisting his Saudi Arabian facet is “more important than just one player”, as followers clamour for the World Cup winner.
“Don’t ask me about Messi,” Bin Nafel advised reporters when requested after Al-Hilal’s victory within the King’s Cup ultimate in Jeddah on Friday in regards to the Argentine celebrity’s switch rumours.
“I will not tell you any news. If anything comes out from our media centre, you will get it.”
In one other interview on the pitch, as the gang shouted “Messi, Messi”, Bin Nafel stated: “The group is more important to me than a player. Any star who comes to our club should know that we are a big club. We aim to improve (the team)… If you focus on one person, you lose the group.”
Al-Hilal has been coached by former Argentinian worldwide striker Ramon Diaz since February 2022, after a primary stint on the Riyadh-based group between October 2016 and February 2018.
After two unexceptional years at Paris Saint-Germain, the wealthy oil kingdom of the Gulf provides an “enormous” monetary alternative for the 35-year-old Messi, a supply near the negotiations advised AFP on Tuesday in Riyadh.
The deal would imply the file seven-time Ballon d’Or winner probably joins his arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo within the Saudi league because the Gulf state lavishes its oil wealth on sport.
Source: sportstar.thehindu.com