Messi Wants To Return To Barcelona, But Club Must Sell £88m Worth of Players And Make Economic Changes

Photo: Instagram/Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi has reportedly decided he wants to return to Barcelona this summer, but the club needs to sell £88m-worth of players and pull another 'economic lever' to make the complicated pursuit possible.

Barcelona will submit their financial projections to La Liga in the next couple of weeks, which will include a contract they plan to offer Messi.

The Spanish League is keen to welcome back the World Cup winner because of his commercial benefit to the competition, but has reiterated that they cannot bend the rules for just one club.

Photo: Instagram/Lionel Messi's precision, speed, and agility leave defenders in awe, as he continues to rewrite the record books with his incredible talent.

La Liga president Javier Tebas has been clear no favours will be done and that Barcelona must put their finances in order first before they can offer Messi a new deal.

It will be a stretch for Messi to accept an offer for around four times less than he is being paid in France, but he is prepared to do so because his family wants to return to their home in Barcelona.

Messi will be offered a two-year deal at 12m euros net a season, which should be within the range of the ‘going-rate’ for a player of his age and pedigree.

Barcelona will need to explain how they can fit the new deal into their financial fair play calculations when a current shortfall of an estimated 200m euros is preventing them from registering new deals for Gavi, Alejandro Balde and Ronald Araujo.

They believe they can pull another economic lever by selling off a percentage of their licensing and merchandising arm.

President Joan Laporta has been on a charm offensive to make peace with Tebas and ask UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin not to ban Barcelona from next season’s Champions League.

Barcelona can’t sell five players and only sign Messi. Multiple departures will have to mean players coming in. Athletic Bilbao centre-back Inigo Martinez will arrive on a free. Other freebies are being pursued, but even if they come without a transfer fee, they will still command a wage.

Barcelona is looking for money in every possible way, including playing Real Madrid in Dallas next July as part of another US tour.

Although Messi has not publicly said that he wants to go back to Barcelona, he needs Paris Saint Germain as his fallback option. 

Unless another club in Europe comes forward with a similar offer to the one being prepared by Barcelona, it's Barcelona or PSG for Messi.

 The path back to Barcelona will not be paved with the same amount of gold Messi is used to, but it’s a road he is willing to walk. It just needs Barcelona to convince La Liga that they can carry out the operation in an economically viable way.

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Source: Daily Mail