The FOUR players Barcelona will sell for Messi

Tom Weber

• 2 May 2023 16:35 BST
• 3 min read

Barcelona have identified four players that they want to offload in order to be able to afford Lionel Messi.

Just last week, the Argentine's triumphant return to the Blaugrana seemed to be inching ever closer. That was until Monday, when (conflicting) reports in Spain began suggesting that Barcelona and LaLiga were still a long way off from reaching an agreement over the club's financial viability plan.

In other words, until president Joan Laporta and company get approval from the league, a deal is off the table. Barcelona will need to cut their spending down by some €200 million in order to comply with next season's Spanish Financial Fair Play regulations.

Some financial levers have already been activated to help in this endeavour, while others are planned for the future, like drastic pay cuts for Barcelona's playing squad as well as turning the current La Masia headquarters into a Messi museum when Camp Nou renovations begin.

READ: Revealed: Messi, Aubameyang and Barcelona’s transfer priorities

Despite these efforts, Barcelona must also sell some players to balance the books and reports claim that the club hierarchy have identified four 'dispensable' players that they can afford to offload in their pursuit of Lionel Messi.

Pointless signings

According to MARCA, Barcelona want to get rid of Franck Kessie, Eric Garcia, Ferran Torres and, if a suitable offer comes in, Ansu Fati.

If true, one must ask what the point in signing the likes of Garcia and Torres was, seeing as though they only arrived at the Camp Nou from Manchester City last season, while Kessie joined last summer.

READ: Barcelona threaten to QUIT La Liga and play in Asia

Even if Barcelona do manage to offload these players, it likely won't be enough to comply with FFP and more 'levers' will need to be activated. Indeed, more players would likely have to be sold. Raphina, for example, is another name that has been linked with a Barcelona exit.