Lionel Messi is joining PSG claims Emir of Qatar's brother

After the initial shockwave following FC Barcelona's announcement that Lionel Messi will not continue with the club, the entire football world immediately started speculating about the Argentine's next destination. According to his recent social media posts, the brother of the Emir of Qatar has claimed that Messi will be joining Paris Saint-Germain.

Fans expected Barcelona to officially announce Messi's contract extension on Thursday, but they received completely the opposite news. However, it appears as though they won't have to wait much longer to find out about the Argentina international's future.

Just 24 hours after Barcelona's announcement, Khalid bin Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani the brother of PSG's owner, took to Twitter to share some exciting news. He claimed that the negotiations between the six-time Ballon d'Or winner and the French giants have been concluded.

In a post that shows a photo of Messi wearing a PSG kit, Al-Thani said, "Negotiations are officially concluded, And announce later #Messi #ParisSaintGermain."

The truth is, while most people expected Messi to stay in Barcelona, everyone looked at Paris as soon as it was confirmed that his new contract could not be ratified by the Catalan giants. Manchester City was perhaps the only other club that could realistically afford to sign the Copa America winner, but PSG was always the top contender.

City manager Pep Guardiola himself had admitted on Friday that his team were not in the running for the coveted signature. On the contrary, PSG players have been very vocal about wanting Messi to join them at the Parc des Princes. Last season, Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman even had to call out the likes of Angel di Maria for talking about his then-captain's possible move to Paris.

On top of all that, Messi was photographed enjoying a night out with Neymar Jr. and a handful of other PSG players just a few days ago, causing more rumours to surface. It appears as though the posts have now confirmed all the speculations. It has truly been an ambitious summer for PSG, after they also signed former Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos.

Ramos and Messi won eight UEFA Champions League titles between them, and PSG are hoping they can lure the cup towards Paris.