Should Barcelona really re-sign Lionel Messi?
Karan Tejwani
- 29 Oct 2022 12:35 BST
- 3 min read
Barcelona exited the Champions League in the group stages for a second consecutive season earlier this week as Bayern Munich and Inter secured qualification from their group.
The exit was a big blow for the Blaugrana, who took big risks over the summer to sign players, and by their own admission, the target was to reach the quarter-finals for the summer to make financial sense.
They have not been able to achieve that have struggled in matches against the two group heavyweights and will now play in the Europa League, where even winning it won’t be of great financial benefit.
READ: Barcelona make Messi their number one target for 2023
All of that raises the question: is it worth bringing back Lionel Messi and does it make much sense to enable the Argentine to return to the Camp Nou in the summer of 2023?
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Is it worth bringing Messi back
In two seasons without Messi, Barcelona have failed to get past the group stages of the Champions League, having never stooped that low when the Argentine was around.
Bringing Messi back to Barcelona comes with a huge price: he’s one of the world’s highest paid players, and Barcelona aren’t in a position to be handing out big contracts.
READ: Revealed: The two Premier League teams trying to sign Lionel Messi
Although this will happen without a transfer fee, and Barcelona have a plan that will see their big earners leave at the end of the season, this will still be a costly affair, even if he accepts a massive wage cut.
That money could possibly be reinvested elsewhere: Barcelona do need another right-back, left-back and another midfielder to play in the holding role – Messi, for all his talents, can’t do either.
G⚽️AL OF THE DAY
Messi 🆚 AC Milan pic.twitter.com/4BdkMMKmmu— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) October 11, 2022
It’s true that signing Messi has its benefits beyond just the pitch: sponsors used to sign extensions with Barcelona depending on whether the Argentine was still there, but if the club want to move on to a new era, is it worth bringing back the essence of old?
There’s a split between the fans. Messi is a legend – Barcelona’s greatest footballer ever – but there’s also an acceptance that bringing back a player who will turn 36 next year won’t fix all their problems. Messi is an icon in Barcelona, but perhaps not the one they need right now.
