Rafael Usetti, vice president of FC Barcelona, revealed that the club is in contact with Argentine star Lionel Messi and wants him to return to the ranks of the Catalan team.
Messi is currently spending the last months of his contract with Paris Saint-Germain, who joined him in 2021 from Barcelona, in light of the Spanish club’s inability to renew the contract.
Messi, who won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with the Argentine national team, scored 18 goals and made 17 goals during the current season so far, but doubts grew about his continuation with St. Germain with the team’s exit from the Champions League.
Despite the desire of the American club, Inter Miami, owned by David Beckham, to include Messi, the name of the Argentine star was often associated with returning to the Barcelona ranks, and Yusti did not rule that out in his statements on Friday.
Yusti said: Of course we are in contact with Messi. Messi and his family know the affection that I have for him, that we all have for them.
He added: I hope he returns and I think the fans wish that too, because the beautiful stories in life must have a happy ending.
He continued: We adore Messi and I believe that Messi loves FC Barcelona and the city of Barcelona.
But Messi’s potential return to Barcelona may depend on the club’s ability to reduce the salary bill, as La Liga president Javier Tebas revealed that Barcelona must provide 200 million euros ($216.69 million) in order to comply with competition regulations next season.
In the event that Barcelona succeeds in achieving this, Yusti believes that a move to return Messi to the team will be possible.
