Messi will return to Barcelona from PSG, insists former Blaugrana star
Martin Macdonald
- 3 Sept 2021 09:59 BST
- 5 min read
Lionel Messi will return to play for Barcelona before he retires, in the opinion of former Camp Nou player Juan Roman Riquelme.
At the end of June during the summer, Messi officially became a free agent for the first time in his career after leaving Barcelona at the expiration of his contract.
It was widely expected that the Argentine superstar would return after a new deal was put on the table, and it was even agreed that the player would accept a 50% pay cut in order to confirm his return.
However, Barcelona would shock the world when they announced that the club would be unable to facilitate Messi's return due to the salary regulations imposed by La Liga.
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The new rules state that clubs cannot spend more than 70% of their annual turnover on player wages.
While Messi was still at the club, that was running at 110%, and even his accepted reduction would not have brought that percentage down enough to met the regulations.
In order for new signings Memphis Depay, Sergio Aguero and Eric Garcia to even be registered, several players such as Miralem Pjanic and Antoine Griezmann have been moved on loan, while Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Sergi Roberto have accepted pay cuts.
Following the news that Messi would not be returning, Paris Saint-Germain acted swiftly to sign him on a free transfer - probably the most famous free transfer in football history.
Messi did not actually want to leave Barcelona this summer, though, and wept in the press conference confirming his departure.
A return in the future?
Riquelme, who played for Barca between 2002 and 2005 and is a compatriot of Messi, thinks he will return and play again for the club before retiring, only after winning the Champions League with PSG.
"I hope that Messi goes on to enjoy Paris," he told ESPN.
"I don’t know if it’s strange, but we are all excited to see him enjoy playing with [Kylian] Mbappe and Neymar.
"If they don’t win the Champions League now, they won’t win it."
"I think Messi will win the Champions League with PSG and retire at Barcelona."
