Messi's father met with Barcelona about a return

Stuart Telford

• 22 Feb 2023 20:29 GMT
• 3 min read

Lionel Messi's Paris Saint-Germain future remains uncertain, and his father and agent Jorge has reportedly been back in Barcelona discussing the prospect of his son returning to Camp Nou.

Messi is the greatest player in Barca's history - if not the game's itself - winning six of his seven Ballons d'Or whilst at the club and scoring a record 672 goals before leaving on a free transfer for PSG in the summer of 2021.

The Blaugrana simply couldn't afford to renew Messi's contract as they wrestled with a debt that stood at €1.35 billion.

READ: Barcelona given hope of Lionel Messi return

A year-and-a-half later and PSG can afford to extend his deal, but he is yet to commit to fresh terms that would take his stay in the French capital beyond next summer.

Messi previously delayed talks until after the winter World Cup in Qatar - which he won with Argentina - but the longer his future remains open the more uneasy his current employers are growing.

Relationship-building

And now Messi's father Jorge has been meeting with Barca president Joan Laporta to discuss his son's potential return.

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"Barca president Joan Laporta has always left the door open to his return," write Diario AS. "And last week, on Thursday 16 February, there was a meeting with Jorge Messi to discuss the situation according to the 'Tot Costa' programme on Catalunya Radio."

According to various reports in Spain, Jorge Messi and Laporta sought to diffuse recent comments from Messi's brother Matias had made slamming the club and its president, while the player himself spent the time having dinner with old friends Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.

What is undeniable is that Jorge Messi was in Barcelona. He was captured before taking a flight out of the city on Thursday.

What Messi does next remains to be seen, but PSG are keen to retain him while David Beckham's Inter Miami seem like his most likely MLS destination should he take a step down from European football at 35.