Messi's Barcelona wage as locker room reaction revealed

Stuart Telford

• 21 Apr 2023 16:18 BST
• 3 min read

Lionel Messi's return to Barcelona from Paris Saint-Germain is edging closer and now details of his new contract at Camp Nou, as well as his teammates' reaction to his return, have been revealed.

Messi left Barca for PSG in the summer of 2021 with the club he is a legend at unable to give him a new contract as they wrestled with a debt that stood at €1.35 billion.

Messi has won the World Cup with Argentina and his record-extending seventh Ballon d'Or during his time in Paris, but it has long looked like only financial hurdles could hold up his return to Camp Nou.

READ: How much do Barcelona earn from TV, matchday and commercial revenue?

Barca manager Xavi, Messi's long-time teammate, and president Joan Laporta have both been pubic about their desire to see Messi return to his spiritual home, and now details of his deal have been revealed.

Messi's Barca offer

"According to our inquiries, Messi could be registered with a quarter of the last salary he received from Barcelona in the 2020/21, which was €100 million gross," report Sport. "That is to say, he could be registered for 2023/24 with a contract of €25m."

Xavi reportedly told Messi that the only thing he had left to achieve in his career was to "leave the club of your life in a good way" - although there is a further sweetener in the deal with Messi set to receive a significant percentage of the sales of jerseys with his name on.

READ: Barcelona back brand Messi to be bigger than Air Jordan

In any case, the Barca players are delighted to welcome him back. The two with major question marks were Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Ousmane Dembele, the former a club captain, the latter a player nominally playing in the same position.

However, Sport say that: "The German, competitive to the max, has blessed the operation," while Dembele "is convinced that having Leo back would be excellent news for the project."

Xavi has also sold the idea to his squad on a tactical level, with Messi - who scored most of his club record 672 goals from the right flank - set to play as a No.10 should he return, with Dembele alongside Robert Lewandowski up ahead.