FC Barcelona are examining possibilities for Lionel Messi’s return
Lionel Messi
FC Barcelona are reportedly studying ways to welcome Lionel Messi back to the Camp Nou next year, whom he lost to Paris Saint-Germain in 2021.
Messi joined PSG on a free transfer when his last Barça contract expired. Both parties had agreed to extend the deal despite the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner wanting to leave in 2020 but the club’s poor financial position lacked the wage margin to register him in La Liga.
In the summer, Barça President Joan Laporta stressed that “the Messi chapter is not yet closed”.
He said at the time: “I think it’s our responsibility to find a moment where we can put this chapter that is still open and not closed back in order so that it develops as it should have been should and will find a better end.
“As Barca president, I did what I had to do (let Messi go from a financial point of view, ed.), but also as Barca president and on a personal level, I think I owe him something .”
Just days later, Laporta claimed: ‘We will make that wish come true’ regarding Messi’s re-signing.
Now reported Sports worldthat Barça are exploring the possibility of a Messi reunion, and it doesn’t have to be as a player.
The ideal path would be to sign him on a free transfer in 2023, although his PSG contract includes an option for a further year until 2024.
For him to return as a player there needs to be enough salary headroom, which obviously wasn’t the case in 2021, and he needs to complement the new project being built by his former teammate Xavi. He may have to take a pay cut and, as he turns 36 next summer, have a smaller role on the pitch.
The alternative, if he decides to hang up his boots, would be to return to Barça as a global ambassador, representing the club off the pitch around the world. But that would only be a secondary plan.
All about Barca at 90min:
This article was originally published on 90min.com as FC Barcelona are exploring options for Lionel Messi’s return.
