Mesh wants to go back
Lionel Messi’s next move after leaving Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) has become less predictable. A move to the Saudi Arabian league was initially thought to be on the cards, but his father has now revealed that Messi wants to return to his hometown club Barcelona.
Messi’s father and agent, Jorge Messi, visited Barcelona president Juan Laporta at his residence on Saturday to discuss Messi’s return, Spanish sports outlet Sport reported.먹튀검증
As Jorge Messi left Laporta’s home, he told local reporters, “Messi wants to return to Barcelona. I’m happy that my son says he wants to return,” he said, adding, “(Returning) is one of the options, and if you ask me if I believe he will return, I will say yes.”
Regardless of Messi’s stance, there are a number of financial hurdles that Barcelona would have to clear if they wanted to sign him.
According to the BBC, Barcelona would have to cut the club’s £531 million ($862.8 million) wage bill by a third to £177 million.
This is in line with the Spanish Primera Liga’s “proportional salary cap” rule, which states that a club’s wage bill must not exceed a certain percentage of its total revenue. As well as wanting to sign Messi, Barcelona are also hoping to renew the contracts of two of their key players, Pablo Gabi and Ronald Araujo. Without being able to offer big salaries, it remains to be seen whether Barcelona will be able to build the squad they want.
Ahead of the 2022-2023 season, the club sold assets, including its share of broadcasting rights, to raise funds for the immediate future. La Liga will also need to approve the club’s financial plan going forward.
Messi, who is an ambassador for the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Tourism, had previously fallen out with the club in April when he missed a team training session and was suspended for travelling to Saudi Arabia without permission to film a promotional video. Amid speculation that Messi would leave PSG, France’s AFP news agency reported at the time that he had signed a blockbuster deal with a Saudi club. The Saudi club’s offer was said to be in the region of $570 million in wages and benefits.