The THREE stars Barcelona have to sell to afford Messi

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 10 May 2023 08:46 BST
• 3 min read

Barcelona continue to harbour hopes of completing a deal that will see Lionel Messi return to the club.

Messi is set to become a free agent in the summer, with his contract at PSG up at the end of June.

Although there have been reports that he has accepted a massive offer to complete a move to Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, FootballTransfers has since revealed that this is not the case.

EXCLUSIVE: Messi to Saudi Arabia NOT done as Barcelona hold out hope

Barcelona remain in the running to land the 35-year-old World Cup winner, who is their leading appearance maker, goal scorer and assist maker.

In order for Messi to return to Camp Nou, though, they will need to make several sales. The club’s financial position is that LaLiga Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules mean that they will need to make numerous sales in order to free up space for the player in their squad.

According to Fichajes, Barca have already earmarked the three players who could be sold to make way.

MORE: Barcelona risk p***ing off Frenkie De Jong

Who will Barcelona sell to make room for Messi?

Raphinha

Although Raphinha only joined last summer from Leeds, with Barcelona beating out competition from Arsenal and Chelsea to land the player, he has endured an up-and-down campaign. Although he has had an irregular level, there are still many leading clubs taking an interest in him, and this could land the type of windfall that would be very useful in reducing Barca’s budget deficit. As such, he could be sacrificed.

Franck Kessie

Another player who only arrived last summer, Kessie joined not on a big-money deal but on a free transfer. He has taken his time to make an impact at Barca but has played well when he has been given first-team opportunities. There is a sense that he is better suited to playing in the Premier League, where Tottenham are interested in him.

Ferran Torres

A big-money addition in 2022 from Manchester City, Ferran’s switch to Barcelona came as something of a surprise given the size of the deal when the Catalans were struggling financially. He has not made a spectacular impact to justify that and is another who is being followed in the Premier League. Arsenal have been linked with him in the past and Aston Villa could pounce now.