Lionel Messi ‘will be a Barcelona player’ next summer
Suraj Radia
- 4 Oct 2022 16:49 BST
- 3 min read
Barcelona will re-sign Lionel Messi when his contract at Paris Saint-Germain expires next summer, according to an Argentine journalist with close ties to the matter.
Speculation has been rife over Messi’s future and Barcelona have made no secret of their desire to re-sign their club legend, with manager Xavi recently insisting ‘Barca is his home’.
And a tweet from well-connected Argentine reporter Veronica Brunati sent social media into raptures after she posted: “July 1, 2023, Lionel Messi will be a Barça player”, solidifying her confidence in the speculation.
Messi reportedly will not make a decision over his future until after the upcoming World Cup but the Argentine forward is believed to be keen on a return to Barca.
PSG are also desperate to keep hold of Messi and have reportedly offered a two-year contract to the 35-year-old, but he is set to resist the temptation of a renewal as well as declining his option to extend his current deal for a further season.
Messi joined PSG on a free transfer last summer after Barcelona’s finances prevented them from extending his contract and he has been in fine form this season after a difficult first year in France.
Messi netted just six goals in 26 Ligue 1 appearances last season but he has netted five times already this campaign as well as grabbing seven assists, half of his total from the previous campaign.
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What have Barcelona said about bringing Messi back?
A return to Barca would require Messi to potentially take a significant wage cut, although Barca economic vice president Eduard Romeu admitted a move could be ‘financially viable.’
"It would be possible financially because if he returned it would be as a free agent,” Romeu said. “But it's a decision which has to be made by the coaching staff and the player.
“It doesn't correspond to me [to make those decisions], but it would be viable. Although I don't have it in the budget.”
1 de julio de 2023, Lionel #Messi será jugador del Barça.
— Veronica Brunati (@verobrunati) October 4, 2022
The comments echo that of club president Joan Laporta, who has previously claimed Barca would do everything they can to right the wrongs of Messi’s departure.
Laporta said: “We have a moral debt with him in this sense. We would like the end of his career to be with the Barça shirt and being applauded in all fields."
