Why dream return of Lionel Messi to Barcelona looks slim?

 

Argentine born Lionel  Messi is a professional footballer who currently plays for Paris Saint-Germain(PSG) and  captains the Argentina football national team. 

Messi is widely considered to be one of the greatest football players of all time, having won numerous individual awards and leading his teams to many titles. 

        

He has won the Ballon d'Or award, given to the best player in the world, a record 7 times, the UEFA Champions League 8 times and with his country, he won the 2021 Copa América and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Messi holds the (474) records for highest  goals in La Liga , most hat-tricks in La Liga of 36, and the UEFA Champions League 8, and most assists in La Liga 192, and the Copa América 17. He also has the most international goals by a South American male 102, among other honors.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Leo Messi (@leomessi)

Messi has scored over 800 senior career goals for club and country, and has the most goals by a player for a single club 672, in 778 games with 520 appearances between 2004 and 2021 for Barcelona, and 57 appearances for Paris Saint-Germain between August, 2021 till date.

Lionel Messi became  the captain of Barcelona in August 2018, following the departure of former captain Andres Iniesta. 

He has been a key player for Barcelona for over a decade and has won numerous titles with the club.

Lionel Messi who now plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) was born on 24th June 1987.

He joined PSG the French club in August,  the summer of 2021, after running down his contract with Barcelona, having spent his entire professional career at Barcelona. 

Messi who had signed a two-year contract with PSG, with an option for a third year, had been playing alongside other high-profile players such as Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Leo Messi (@leomessi)

Lionel Messi's salary at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) has not been actually officially disclosed, but it has been reported to be in the neighborhood of €35 million net per year, an equivalent to  approximately $41 million USD.

 

This figure had made him one of the highest-paid football players in the world. 

Though it's important to note here, that the exact amount of his salary may vary depending on several factors such as bonuses, endorsements, and other incentives.

The speculations about his return to Barcelona, has been in the news for sometime and the question many are asking, is if this is likely to happen?

According to reports from BBC sports, the likelihood of going back to Barcelona is not visible. 

The report stated "Barcelona have a wage bill of about 600m euros (£531m) which they need to reduce by at least 200m (£177m)".

"Before they can even make a formal offer to Messi this financial restructuring must happen, because if it does not - forget Messi for a moment - they will not even be able to register new contracts with the likes of Gavi, Araujo, Marcos Alonso and Sergi Roberto, nor finalise any renewals and sign reinforcements for next season with a deal for Athletic Bilbao centre-back Inigo Martinez already agreed", the report said. 

"Only when all this is sorted out can they think about returning into the transfer market for new players, among them Messi" BBC reports.

#LionelMessi

#Barcelona

#BBCSports

#PSG