Six-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi received a hero's welcome after flying to France on Tuesday to join Paris Saint Germain following his shock departure from Barcelona.
Wearing a T-shirt that read "This is Paris," Messi beamed and waved at scores of fans who had come to greet him at Le Bourget airport on the outskirts of the French capital after his flight from Barcelona.
"It's going to be mad. After all, it's a legend who is arriving," said Florent Chauveau, a PSG fan who has been back and forth to the airport every day since Sunday in the hope of seeing Messi arrive.
Messi gave no details of the deal, which was reached days after Barcelona said it could not afford to keep the midfielder because of Spain's La Liga's fair play rules.
Speaking to reporters at Barcelona's airport, confirmed reports by French newspaper L'Equipe and Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo that Messi had reached an agreement with PSG, which is owned by Qatar Sports Investment.
Messi won four Champions League titles while at Barcelona, as well as 10 La Liga titles.
The arrival of Messi, who has 245 million followers on Instagram and is Barcelona's most decorated player of all time, is also welcome news for France's Ligue 1, embroiled in a crisis over TV rights.
