You cannot say that no one saw this coming.
It has been two years since Barcelona confirmed the fate of Lionel Messi’s future at the Camp Nou and announced he will leave the club on a free. Fast forward to 2023, Barcelona’s vice-president has officially announced that they will go all-out in a bid to try and re-sign the World Champion.
FC Barcelona vice president Rafa Yuste has confirmed that the club has contacted Lionel Messi about a possible return to the club this summer.
Messi famously left Barca in tears in 2021. As a free agent, he walked to Paris Saint Germain and signed a two-year contract which expires on June 30, 2023.
That Barca have been in contact with Messi’s camp should come as no surprise, but it is the first public confirmation of the Catalans working on his potential return. Given their economic woes, the Blagurana cannot match Paris Saint Germain in terms of salary. This means that rumours of Messi to Al Hilal have also caught some fire in a bid to try and reunite the rivalry between Ronaldo and the Argentinian.
But with the latest updates on Messi’s return to Barcelona, it looks like only a matter of time before his future is settled once and for all.
Messi to Barcelona transfer update
Reports claimed he had verbally agreed a new deal with the French giants but a contract is yet to come to fruition. That has opened the door for Barca to make their move, and according to vice president Rafa Yuste the club has already taken steps to re-sign Messi.
He said: “We’ve been in contact with Leo Messi’s camp. Leo knows how much we appreciate him and I’d love for him to come back. “For sure Messi loves Barça and the city, so we hope to find the right conditions to continue his history here.”
Will Messi leave PSG?
There has been a deal on the table for Messi to sign since the start of 2023. Although, the Argentinian is yet to put pen to paper on the 2-year contract extension that the French club have offered.
Thi is mainly due to the fact that, according to reports, Messi himself has the desire to return to Camp Nou if the right offer is made. President Joan Laporta is also determined to land the superstar and reportedly met with his father and agent Jorge recently.
Speaking last summer, Laporta said: “I don’t believe Messi’s chapter at Barcelona is over.
“And I believe it is our responsibility to make sure that chapter is still open, that it hasn’t closed. To have a moment to do it how it should have been done so that he may have a much more splendid ending than what he had.
“If I feel like I owe him one? Yes. Morally, as the president of Barcelona, I think I did what needed to be done. But also as Barcelona’s president, and personally, I believe I owe him one.”
Barcelona might not be at the front of the queue when it comes to realistic landing spots for Messi. Barcelona fans would love to see their messiah return but know the chance are very slim, but so were the chance of him leaving Camp Nou two years ago.