Barcelona to offer Messi contract as two MYSTERY offers arrive

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 7 Jun 2023 07:49 BST
• 4 min read

Barcelona are poised to make Lionel Messi a former transfer offer, according to reports in Spain, while the World Cup winner has been offered terms to two mystery clubs, thought to be from the Premier League.

Momentum has gathered over Messi’s potential return to Camp Nou since the beginning of the week, with it now looking a realistic possibility that the Argentine international attacker turns down the lucrative advances from the Saudi Pro League and Inter Miami to re-join his old club.

Barcelona, though, face a race against time to complete a deal for a player who will leave PSG as a free agent when his contract expires with the Ligue 1 club at the end of June.

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Returning to Camp Nou remains Messi’s preference, despite the acrimonious nature of his departure two years ago. The possibility of going back to Barca, though, hinges on the club’s ability to overcome their Financial Fair Play (FFP) issues. Their feasibility plan has been given the green light by LaLiga, giving them an outside possibility of a deal.

Sport reports that Barcelona “plan to transfer a formal contract offer to him” but “cannot give him 100% guarantee that he will be registered”.

BOMBSHELL: Messi demands STOP in transfer negotiations

It is stated that Barca believe that they have the capability to get themselves into a position whereby Messi can be registered – but crucially the Catalans believe this could take weeks.

The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, though, does not want to wait so long to resolve his future, with Mundo Deportivo reporting that this week will be “decisive”.

It looks unlikely that Barca will get a deal done in time, as Messi's father Jorge admitted. The club is doing everything to reverse this trend, though.

TWO new Messi transfer offers

The race to sign Messi has been a three-way battle that has been led by Al-Hilal over Barcelona and Inter Miami for the beginning.

However, David Beckham’s MLS franchise have come more seriously into the picture to sign Messi in recent hours. Reports from Spain broke on Tuesday that Inter Miami are stepping up their advances to sign the player and these were subsequently confirmed in Argentina.

AS reports that two mystery European teams have offered Messi terms, with no names suggested. It is likely these clubs come from the Premier League, where Chelsea and Newcastle had been linked with left-field bids for the superstar when his departure from PSG became official.