In a recent revelation made by journalist Albert Masnou while writing for SPORT, he claims that Lionel Messi will not return to Barcelona while accepting a secondary role.
Messi, who joined Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2021 on a free transfer, has a contract with the Ligue 1 champions until 2023.
Although it’s been said that the player will only decide his future after the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Barcelona are believed to be excited about the idea of a potential homecoming.
A lot has been said in that regard and as reported before, Xavi already has his friend and former teammate in mind in order to establish a new blueprint post his arrival.
For the manager to accommodate Messi, he will have to make several alterations. First, he must define a categorical role for the Argentine, as to where he plans to use him.
It’s important to understand that despite having a difficult debut season with PSG, Messi has now settled well in the French capital. He and his family have now achieved the comfort that they had in Barcelona, meaning that if he is to return, he will not settle for anything else.
In all fairness, inducting Messi into the new Barcelona system might be tricky, as first, Robert Lewandowski is an undisputed starter. If Xavi means to deploy Messi on the wings, the place of Raphinha, Ousmane Dembele or Ansu Fati and others will be sacrificed.
There would be some aspersions over this potential comeback coming back to haunt Barcelona the same way it is hurting Manchester United with regard to a certain Cristiano Ronaldo.
So if Barcelona are indeed serious about the move, a lot of homework needs to be done to ensure that Messi will be happy with his role while not sacrificing the growth and development of other key players that are already in the squad.
