Messi sends devastating blow to Barcelona

Suraj Radia

• Updated: 16 Jan 2023 19:11 GMT
• 3 min read

Barcelona had been hoping for a fairytale reunion with Lionel Messi this summer, with the Paris Saint-Germain forward still yet to decide where his future lies.

Messi is out of contract at the end of the season and, while reports have claimed he is close to a renewal with PSG, speculation linking him with a return to Barca or an MLS move refuses to subside.

Barca have openly insisted that they would do whatever it takes to ensure Messi eventually returns to the club, despite their ongoing financial predicament, but there could be another twist in the tale for the La Liga side.

COMEBACK?: Laporta speaks on potential Messi return

Catalan outlet El Nacional claims Messi is reluctant to rejoin Barcelona in their current state, with the 35-year-old still hoping for another Champions League medal, having not won the competition since 2015.

El Nacional describe the issue as Messi not wanting to join ‘a Barcelona without soul’ as he feels the club’s image is damaged and considers the situation a ‘closed chapter’.

With Messi unconvinced over Barca’s credentials both on and off the pitch and hoping to end his career by ‘reaching the Olympus of European football again’, the Argentine legend appears likely to extend his stay in Paris in the near future.

Barca controversies come back to haunt them

The report comes days after revelations that former Barcelona officials had described Messi as a ‘hormonal dwarf’ and a ‘sewer rat’ around the time of his exit from the club in 2021.

Messi left Barca ‘through the back door’ as El Nacional describe it, following the club’s ballooning wage bill which left them unable to register new contracts and transfers.

The club’s senior players were forced into wage cuts and salary deferrals in order to ease the strain on the budget but Messi ended up joining PSG despite his desire to remain at Barca.

SE QUEDA: Messi contract talks progressing at PSG

Joan Laporta replaced Josep Maria Bartomeu as club president soon after Messi’s departure and attempted to further curb Barca’s wage bill with more cuts to contracts.

However, Laporta caused controversy by activating a number of ‘economic levers’ last summer, which included selling a portion of the club’s merchandising brand and TV rights.

The club also spent more than €200 million on new players despite several stars such as Frenkie de Jong still being owed backpay from previous salary deferrals, which is believed to have damaged Barca’s reputation in the footballing world.

With Barca also crashing out of the Champions League at the group stage this season, the club’s financial mishaps and their struggles in Europe have seemingly left Messi reluctant to rejoin his former side this summer.