PSG fans flock to airport to greet Lionel Messi - before he has even booked flight

Paris Saint-Germain fans have flocked to Le Bourget airport to get a glimpse of Lionel Messi - even though he has not booked a flight to France yet.

Messi is widely expected to join PSG in the coming days. His Barcelona contract expired in the summer and was prevented from signing due to the club’s perilous financial situation. 

Since then, Messi has bid an emotional goodbye to Barça in a press conference and agreed a deal to join PSG. As soon as Manchester City ruled themselves out of the running there was only ever going to be one destination for the six-time Ballon d'Or winner. He should be confirmed as a PSG player soon. 

However, some fans could not wait until his debut to catch a glimpse at the legendary forward. As footage posted by L’Equipe showed, hundreds of supporters gathered outside Le Bourget airport on Sunday evening hoping to see Messi arriving at his new home. 

Crowds also appeared outside the club's Parc de Princes stadium in anticipation of Messi's arrival.

The PSG fans a raucous atmosphere, turned up with flairs and chanted for Messi - only to leave disappointed. According to Fabrizio Romano, the player has not yet booked his flight to France with he and his father spending Sunday checking over his new contract with lawyers. 

Messi should be jetting off to Paris soon enough, though, and when he does arrive he will no doubt be greeted with the appropriate hysteria. The uncertainty surrounding his arrival date did not stop fans congregating at the airport again on Monday either.

The arrival of La Pulga caps off a pretty extraordinary transfer window for PSG. Gianluigi Donnarumma, Georginio Wijnaldum and Sergio Ramos have all arrived on free transfers. Meanwhile, Achraf Hakimi has also been signed from Inter. 

With such a strong squad they are expected to breeze to the Ligue 1 title and also make a strong bid to win the Champions League.