Barcelona given Messi boost by LaLiga president

Tom Weber

• Updated: 4 May 2023 16:34 BST
• 3 min read

LaLiga chief Javier Tebas has voiced his belief that Barcelona may be able to raise enough funds in the summer to sign Lionel Messi.

Tebas has been at odds with Barcelona a lot in recent times, but his latest statement will give Blaugrana fans hope. The club and LaLiga have been negotiating over Barcelona's financial viability plan in the last few weeks.

The Catalans will have to cut down their spending or rake in €200 million so as to be able to comply with the league's Financial Fair Play regulations next term. To do this, 'financial levers' have been activated, and more are planned for the future, such as pay cuts and turning the old La Masia headquarter into a Messi museum when Camp Nou renovations begin.

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These efforts won't be enough, however, and Barcelona will have to sell some players in the summer in the hope of making enough to get LaLiga approval. Tebas, for his part, believes that the Blaugrana may be able to just pull it off.

What did Tebas say?

Speaking at a public conference, Tebas offered some insights into the Camp Nou side's viability plan. "Barcelona are going to sell players for good amounts. Their plan is going that way."

"The best players," he continued, "stay in Spain and they say that Leo [Messi] wants to return to Spain, and it will have to be for less money than at PSG. They have their strategy to sign more players. I don't know if it's the right thing to do, but if they manage to get that revenue, they’ll be able to spend more on players."

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“We discussed the consequences of the documentation obtained with the club," the 60-year-old concluded. "Until they see their plan is done, they will continue to exceed it. Here [at LaLiga] we don't look at whether they bring in Messi or Mbappé. We tell them how much money they can spend."