Nasser Al-Khelaifi has made extending Lionel Messi PSG no. 1 priority

When you have the GOAT in your ranks, you don't want to lose him. That is what the president of PSG, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, is thinking about Lionel Messi and the possibility of extending his contract, which is set to expire next June.

Winning the 2022 World Cup last Sunday, Messi added the only piece of gold missing from his trophy cabinet to its shelves.

Messi will be celebrating the triumph in Buenos Aires on Tuesday with the rest of the Argentina internationals. We still don't know when Messi will be back with PSG, though, but he is expected to stay with his family for at least 10 days before returning to Paris.

In less than two weeks, PSG fans and club officials will start to get worried about something related to Messi that has nothing to do with the training: his contract running out in the summer of 2023 and La Pulga being able to talk to any club in the world from January 1st on.

The contract under which Messi is playing will be over on June 30, 2023. Messi, who is already 35 years old, will then be free to sign with any club he wants. He will be able to reach a verbal agreement with any club from the first day of next year, though.

Messi is enjoying his best football at PSG and Argentina this season. He has qualified for the Champions League Round of 16 and is coming off winning his first World Cup. It could be said that Messi is, right now, the no. 1 face of PSG over the French youngster Kylian Mbappe.

According to a report published on GOAL on Monday, extending the deal with Messi is "an absolute priority" of PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi.

GOAL is revealing also that Al-Khelaifi "warmly congratulated" the Argentine after winning the World Cup, and that he already told him "to hold a meeting over the next few days" in order for both parties "to deal with the new contract issues."

The renewal of Lionel Messi's contract is "vital for the future (of PSG)" according to GOAL

Al-Khelaifi was already poised to offer Messi an extension before the World Cup run, but after he won the World Cup the president is reportedly willing to go "all-in" for Messi with their proposal to the Argentine.

One of the most pressing issues and the most important reasons for PSG to want this extension is the "worldwide media impact" of Messi, which PSG don't want to lose.

As an example and for context, Messi is the second most-followed player on Instagram, only trailing Cristiano Ronaldo (who is about to disappear into the Saudi Arabia football leagues, losing all of his current global impact).

According to GOAL, "PSG want Messi to stay in Paris along with Kylian Mbappe" mostly because the club want to retain "a global icon in Messi" in order for the club to "attract new sponsorships" that can help them "push the economy forward."

With Messi turning 36 years old before next season, PSG seems to be thinking about this extension more in the economic rather sporting terms.

PSG is planning on offering Messi a "two-year deal" in which the salary would be "very similar" to those currently present on his ongoing contract with Paris Saint-Germain.

The other two options on Messi's radar, according to GOAL, are arriving in the MLS signing with Inter Miami, or returning to Camp Nou to play for Barcelona once more. The outlet says that talks with the former are "currently dead" while signing with Barcelona "is a remote option right now."