FC Barcelona and Lionel Messi remain one of football’s most beautiful stories, and a reunion of these two would benefit the history of the game itself. For now, the legendary Argentine remains contracted to Paris Saint Germain. However, his contract runs out in June of this year, and afterwards, the player would be free to negotiate his transfer according to his own will.
In recent days, speculation and reports have run rampant about a potential return to his home of Barcelona for the recent World Cup winner. His renewal negotiations with PSG have stalled and this has paved the way for FC Barcelona to make a stance towards recapturing their most fabled hero.
For Lionel Messi to turn, according to SPORT, there are a handful of set conditions and required scenarios that must occur to enable the player to make his return.
Meeting the Barcelona president:
It remains no secret that the relationship between Joan Laporta and Lionel Messi has been stained and staggered due to their final send-off. The president reportedly backed out and betrayed the Messi family by disregarding his promised contract to the player and leaving him without a club at the end of the summer transfer window of 2021.
For relations to be mended and a possible return to be paved, Messi and Laporta meeting face to face to bury the hatchet and bring back hope and joy to the club will be a key step in negotiations advancing.
Lionel Messi’s approval to Barcelona:
The homecoming of Leo Messi to the Catalan club will first and foremost need the approval of the player himself. While his family is reportedly thrilled at the idea of getting to return to Barcelona, the final decision rests in his hands.
As of right now, constant contacts with Xavi Hernandez, him deliberately stalling negotiations with PSG, and reports suggesting his personal desire to return, all positive signs point to it just being a matter of time before Messi is sure of wanting a return to the club of his life.
Complying with Financial Fairplay:
Lastly, and perhaps the most difficult of the three conditions to actually achieve in terms of feasibility, Barcelona will need to comply with financial fair play when considering the economic portion of their potential contract with Leo Messi.
As of right now, with even renewed contracts proving difficult to be registered, the possible signing of not just Messi but any other target as well seems improbable. Barcelona need to reportedly cut down around €200 million from their current wage bill before they can even consider pursuing further transfer targets.
