Forget Barcelona! Saudi plots shock Messi swoop
Tom Weber
- 9 Oct 2023 18:41 BST
- 3 min read
A return to Barcelona is looking increasingly unlikely, but Lionel Messi could yet leave Inter Miami on loan in January.
David Beckham's Major League Soccer franchise have missed out on the playoffs and Messi is set for several months without domestic league action once the regular season concludes at the end of October.
The fact that the Argentine will be without MLS play for up to four months threw up sensational rumours of a loan return to Barcelona in January, with him potentially following in the footsteps of Beckham and Thierry Henry who temporarily headed back to Europe during their stints stateside.
READ: Barcelona's stance on Lionel Messi return revealed
However, recent reports out of Spain have revealed that the Blaugrana have given the prospect of bringing the 36-year-old back no consideration and this is now also being echoed by Sport, which claims that Messi, too, is not thinking of a return to Catalunya.
The same outlet, however, does report that Messi could nonetheless make his way back across the Atlantic.
Messi to Saudi?
It is claimed that Saudi Arabia is plotting a swoop for the Inter Miami star. "Arabia has interfered and wants Leo on loan for six months," asserts the above-mentioned report without providing any further details.
Whether there is anything to this remains to be seen, but it would be far from surprising. The Argentine is an ambassador for Saudi Arabia and regularly advertises the controversial Gulf State on his social media channels.
READ: Surprise club hope to land 'new Moises Caicedo' amid Barcelona interest
Moreover, when it became clear that Messi wouldn't extend his PSG contract earlier in the year, Riyadh giants Al-Hilal made him an eye-watering offer that he, to a lot of peoples' surprise, spurned.
The report also claims that Inter Miami would be open to granting Messi his wish if he desired to head out on loan. So, if the Argentine were to insist on joining a Saudi side in January, a deal would not be totally out of the question.
