Mueez Ajao
– Barcelona vice president Eduard Romeu has said Lionel Messi’s return to the club as a player would be financially possible next summer.
– Messi, 35, will be out of contract with Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season and could potentially move back to Barca on a free transfer.
– The Argentina forward left Barcelona for France in 2021 because they could not afford to renew his deal while remaining within their LaLiga-imposed spending limit.
Also Read: We would like Messi to retire at Barcelona – Laporta
– “It would be possible financially because if he returned, it would be as a free agent,” Romeu told Catalunya Radio on Wednesday when asked whether the club could afford to bring Messi back.
– “But it’s a decision which has to be made by the coaching staff and the player. It doesn’t correspond to me [to make those decisions], but it would be viable.”
– Barca president Joan Laporta opened the door to a sensational Messi return in the summer when he told ESPN the forward’s “chapter” at the club is still “not over.”
– Laporta said he considers it his responsibility to ensure Messi has a “more beautiful ending” at Camp Nou than the one he experienced when he was forced to say goodbye to the club amid tears just over a year ago.
– Coach Xavi attempted to play down the chances of a reunion with his former teammate in July, but he did say “we will see in the future” when speaking on the club’s tour of the United States.
– Sources close to Messi have maintained that his focus at the moment is exclusively on the upcoming World Cup with Argentina and having a successful season with PSG.
– The panorama has greatly changed at Barca since Messi’s departure. Asset sales totalling over €700 million, which were dubbed “unfair” by PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi on Wednesday, allowed them to invest in Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Jules Kounde, among others, in the summer.
– Their LaLiga salary cap has increased from minus-€144m to over €600m, but Romeu says that while they were able to sign players like Lewandowski and could afford to bring Messi back, they are still not completely healthy financially.
– “Without boasting, we have saved Barca, but the club is not economically healthy yet,” the vice president added.
– “There’s still a need for austerity, and there is a lot of work to do. [I predict] Barca will be healthy within five years [of our mandate]. In the ’24-25 season, we will be at the level we should be.”
