"Leo wants to return to Barça": Messi's father negotiates with the Catalan club

Two years later, the soap opera Lionel Messi is back. Left free by PSG who formalized Saturday his departure before the reception of Clermont (2-3), the 35-year-old Argentine striker is on the market, and seeks to find a new point of fall. A future club that could be the old one, since negotiations are already taking place between his entourage and FC Barcelona, left in 2021 for the French capital.

This Monday, the father and advisor of the seven-time Ballon d'Or, Jorge, was even invited to the president of the Catalan club, Joan Laporta, to discuss the contours of the possible return of the world champion. "Leo wants to return to Barça, and I would also, of course, like to let go of the father at the end of the meeting according to comments reported by Mundo Deportivo and Sport. Do I have confidence? Yes. »

Competition from Saudi Arabia

A statement also nuanced by Jorge Messi. Is an agreement close? "There is nothing," he told reporters. We still have a lot to talk about. Starting with financial concerns, while FC Barcelona must clean up its accounts. The recent Spanish champion faces competition from Saudi Arabia where Al-Hilal club offers Messi a salary of 360 million euros per season.

"You'll see if it's difficult," Joan Laporta said Saturday to a supporter who pointed his phone under his nose asking him how complicated the operation to bring back the Argentine was. "Leo is difficult," he then blurted out, before a possible allusion to the Saudi offer of one: "Those who do what they can are not obliged to do more."

In early May, Jorge Messi denied any agreement with Al-Hilal. His departure to the Gulf would be a new prestigious acquisition for this country where Cristiano Ronaldo already plays and where Karim Benzema is close to committing.