Shortly after Lionel Messi lifted his first FIFA World Cup title, there was an understandable clamour from Barcelona fans, most of who would welcome the return of the Argentine international back to Camp Nou.
With Messi’s contract at Paris Saint-Germain expiring at the end of the season, many believe there is even a window of opportunity for Barcelona to sign him back.
However, according to Marcal Llorente, the possibility of Messi’s return to Camp Nou is seemingly bleak due to various different reasons.
For one, the Argentine ace is still affected by the way he was treated in Barcelona during the summer of 2021. He is particularly unhappy with the club president Joan Laporta and the two are yet to reconcile, despite the best efforts of the latter.
Another major issue for Barcelona is their financial woes. Laporta assumes that the deal to sign Messi is impossible because the club are dealing with Financial Fair Play regulations and since dishing out multiple economic levers in the summer, the club have already signed seven players.
Barcelona are not in a position to utilise more financial levers in an attempt to fund a move for Messi, even if the attacker is available for free after the end of the season.
On that note, Barça face another problem. It appears Messi himself is close to renewing his contract with Paris Saint-Germain. The French giants have been working behind the scenes to prepare a new deal for the attacker, which will safeguard his future at Parc des Princes.
Messi is likely to pen a new deal with PSG that could extend his contract at least until 2024, with an option to extend the length for a further year. Deciding the length of the contract will be left on the hands of Messi, who has refused to talk about his future for the time being.
