FC Barcelona can no longer afford Lionel Messi's salary and are effectively choosing the opportunity to join a future Super League over signing Messi in the short-term.
Barca's loss will likely be Paris Saint-Germain's gain. The French club quickly swooped in with a two-year offer mere days after Messi's exit press conference.
Though the signing hasn't yet been finalized, PSG are the only club besides Manchester City that can afford Messi's exorbitant wages. And while PSG have more than enough financial room to sign the six-time Ballon d'Or winner, City are mired in a standoff with Tottenham over Harry Kane and have already dropped nearly $140 million on Jack Grealish.
Consequently, the betting markets have shifted in PSG's favor. They have become co-favorites with City (+350) at BetMGM after opening at +1000 in July.
2022 Champions League Odds
Odds are as of Aug. 9 according to BetMGM
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| PSG | +350 |
| Manchester City | +350 |
| Bayern Munich | +600 |
| Chelsea | +900 |
| Liverpool | +900 |
| Manchester United | +1200 |
| Juventus | +1600 |
| Real Madrid | +1600 |
| FC Barcelona | +2000 |
| Atletico Madrid | +2200 |
| Borussia Dortmund | +2500 |
| Inter Milan | +3300 |
| Sevilla | +5000 |
| AC Milan | +5000 |
| Atalanta | +5000 |
| RB Leipzig | +6600 |
| Ajax | +6600 |
| FC Porto | +6600 |
The Parisians' odds moved from +1000 to +800 after news of Sergio Ramos' signing became official. Ramos moved on a free transfer after more than 15 seasons at Real Madrid.
Then, PSG agreed to a free transfer for Gianliugi Donnarumma — the starting goalkeeper for the Euro 2020-winning Italians — which helped move odds at BetMGM down to +600.
That line has now shortened all the way to +350 amid Messi's impending signing.
“PSG has managed to cultivate the most threatening front three ever in world football," said Darren Darby, a sports trader at BetMGM. "In addition to adding Messi, the team has signed Ramos, Wijnaldum, Hakim and Donnaruma. PSG has the best squad on paper and is the betting favorite to win the Champions League.”
Paris Saint-Germain have both the highest amount of individual bets and the most money on them to win Europe's most prestigious club trophy, according to BetMGM.
Their ticket percentage of almost 40% is more than double the next-best club, Manchester City, which have just 15.7% of the bets.
PSG's 65.4% money percentage at BetMGM is almost six times more than next-best club Chelsea, who have 11.7% of the handle.
At DraftKings, PSG briefly became co-favorites with Man City last Thursday to win the Champions League at +300 amid the Messi exit news before the line settled at its current mark of +340.
PSG had opened in July as +800 underdogs with Liverpool and Chelsea as third-best favorites.
City remain the most likely at DraftKings at +300 while Bayern Munich (+550), Liverpool (+750) and Chelsea (+800) round out the book's top-five favorites as of Aug. 9.
