Barcelona get GREEN LIGHT to complete Messi transfer

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 20 May 2023 12:49 BST
• 3 min read

Breaking

Lionel Messi’s move back to Barcelona has taken a significant step forward with La Liga giving the green light to the club’s financial proposals, according to RAC1.

Journalist Ferran Correas reports that LaLiga has approved Barca’s viability plan and official communication will be made on Monday.

This means that the club will return to the more lenient Financial Fair Play (FFP) structure and will be able to sign players normally, making a deal for Messi possible.

MORE: Lionel Messi to return: His 10 greatest Barcelona moments

Previously, Barcelona were in a position where they had to cut three times as much as they wishes to spend. That means, if they wanted to offer a contract worth €10 million, for example, they would have to make €30m of savings in order to do so.

Once LaLiga have made their acceptance of Barca’s financial plan official, though, the Catalans will be able to spend whatever they save. Now this means that in order to offer a contract worth €10m, they need to only make €10m in savings – clearly a far easier task.

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Signing Messi, meanwhile, is not a guarantee.

The 35-year-old World Cup winner has been offered a bumper €1 billion contract in the Saudi Pro League by Al Hilal, according to reports from Spain, while will surely test the resolve of the Argentine to go back to Barcelona.

Barcelona get Dembele and Gavi contract boosts

Barcelona, meanwhile, will be able to offer their existing stars new contracts.

Ousmane Dembele and Gavi will be able to sign new deals when these were previously considered to be problematic because of the club’s financial position.

It also means that the number of outgoing transfers are likely to be reduced, thereby allowing them to rest easy over the prospect of keeping star performers like Frenkie de Jong, who they might otherwise have considered selling.