Messi to PSG could be good news for Real Madrid's pursuit of Mbappe

French club will struggle to balance the books with Messi, Neymar and Mbappe all on high salaries

Lionel Messi greets supporters after landing at Le Bourget Airport in Paris, on August 10, for a medical before joining the Paris Saint-Germain club.

Lionel Messi, 34, waves to the fans outside Le Bourget Airport.

Lionel Messi after landing at at Le Bourget airport, north of Paris.

PSG fans gather outside Le Bourget Airport in Paris waiting for the arrival of Lionel Messi.

Supporters gather outside the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris.

PSG fans gather outside Le Bourget Airport in Paris waiting for the arrival of Lionel Messi.

Lionel Messi arrives at Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport with his wife Antonella and children to board a charter flight to Paris.

Lionel Messi arrives at El Prat airport in Barcelona.

Lionel Messi arrives at Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport with his wife Antonella and their children.

Lionel Messi leaves Barcelona to join Paris Saint-Germain.

Police officers stand outside Paris Saint-Germain's Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, in anticipation of Lionel Messi's arrival.

Journalists and supporters gather outside PSG's Parc des Princes stadium awaiting the arrival of Lionel Messi.

Supporters wait outside Paris Saint-Germain's Parc des Princes stadium.

Supporters gather outside Le Bourget Airport.

Supporters wait outside French football club Paris Saint-Germain's Parc des Princes stadium.

Argentinian striker Lionel Messi's father and agent Jorge Messi arrives to El Prat International Airport in Barcelona on Tuesday.

Lionel Messi's father and agent Jorge Messi arrive to El Prat International Airport in Barcelona.

Workers remove a poster featuring Barcelona's departing forward Lionel Messi at the Camp Nou stadium.

A worker removes posters featuring Barcelona's departing forward Lionel Messi at the Camp Nou.

Workers remove a poster featuring Lionel Messi at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona.

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez faces a stressful few weeks before the transfer window closes if he wants to have Kylian Mbappe in his squad.

With Lionel Messi's arrival, Real are confident Paris Saint-Germain can be brought to the negotiating table. Talks over a contract extension have stalled and PSG may prefer to cash in on the 22-year-old forward now rather than risk losing him for free next summer.

Messi has agreed a two-year deal worth a reported €30m-a-year, which makes him PSG's top earner, above Neymar and Mbappe. Those salaries combined would almost certainly put PSG in breach of Financial Fair Play rules, meaning something has to give.

A big point in Real Madrid's favour.

Mbappe has done his part. The French World Cup winner informed his coach, Mauricio Pochettino, he would not renew his contract, which expires in June 2022.

But that was before Messi's extraordinary press conference on Sunday in which he announced he would no longer continue at Barca. Maybe Mbappe has had a change of heart?

PSG would demand a high price for Mbappe, looking to recoup the €140 million and more they paid Monaco for him three years ago. They may decide to balance their books by offloading others and line up with a trident of Messi, Neymar and Mbappe.

Real Madrid have their own problems. The Spanish giants have faced huge financial losses due to the coronavirus pandemic and finished last season without any trophies. The €500m refurbishment of the Bernabeu has also significantly drained resources.

That means any money to sign Mbappe will have to be funded from player sales. Raphael Varane is set to join Manchester United for £34 million while the club are open to offers for Dani Ceballos, Luka Jovic, Martin Odegaard and Vinicius Jr.

Signing Mbappe would also strike another significant blow to bitter rivals Barcelona. Reports in Spain suggest it was Perez who persuaded Barca counterpart Joan Laporta to reject the proposal by investment firm CVC for a 10 per cent stake in La Liga.

Barca could have used their slice of the €2.7 billion deal to keep Messi, but Laporta was unwilling to give up Barca's TV rights.

It could represent a spectacular own goal for Laporta: Messi leaves for free, Mbappe joins title rivals Real and Barca miss out on millions on investment after the collapse of the CVC agreement.