Transfer Centre

Lionel Messi father confirms attacker wants Barcelona return

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter | 05 June 2023

The father of Argentine attacker Lionel Messi confirms that his son wants to return to Barcelona, but the La Liga champions are yet to put a contract offer on the table.

The father of Argentina attacker Lionel Messi has confirmed that his son is pining for a return to Barcelona following a meeting with Blaugrana president Joan Laporta.

The 35-year-old has now played his final game in a Paris Saint-Germain jersey since his tearful exit from Camp Nou at the end of the 2020-21 season.

Barcelona's volatile economic situation made it impossible for the Catalonian giants to retain Messi's services, and the attacker subsequently penned a two-year deal with PSG.

The Argentine's contract at the Parc des Princes included an option to extend until 2024, but the French champions and Messi decided to go their separate ways at the end of the 2022-23 season.

Only a handful of clubs across the globe have the financial firepower to sign the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner, namely Saudi Arabian teams such as Al-Hilal and Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr.

Paris Saint-Germain's Lionel Messi with the Sportsman of the Year trophy at the Laureus World Sports Awards on May 8, 2023 © Reuters

Al-Hilal are believed to be in the driving seat to bring Messi to the Middle East, where he is a tourism ambassador, but Barcelona are fighting tooth and nail to bring him back to La Liga.

Earlier on Monday, Messi's father Jorge Messi was seen meeting with Barca president Laporta, who has been vocal in his desire to facilitate Messi's Blaugrana homecoming.

Speaking to journalist Toni Juanmarti following their exchange, Messi senior revealed that his son is hoping to return to Barcelona, and he would "love" to see a move come to fruition.

"Leo wants to return to Barcelona and I'd love to see him back to Barca. Barca move is an option for sure," Jorge Messi told Juanmarti.

Messi left Barcelona in 2021 as their all-time top scorer following an illustrious 21-year spell, racking up 672 goals in 778 matches, as well as setting up 303 more.

Argentina's Lionel Messi celebrates scoring their second goal on March 23, 2023 © Reuters

Messi won six of his seven Ballon d'Or honours while on the books at Camp Nou, as well as clinching 10 La Liga titles and four Champions League crowns with Barcelona.

However, Barcelona are still in a complicated situation financially and are under pressure to slash their wage bill by as much as €200m (£172.4m) in order to make Messi's return feasible.

With the La Liga champions yet to kickstart a firesale of players, Fabrizio Romano reports that Laporta was unable to table a contract offer to Messi's father during their recent meeting.

As a result, both Barca and Messi are supposedly fearing that time is running out amid interest from Saudi Arabia and the USA, but the two parties are supposedly working together to try to find a "creative" solution.

During his two years at PSG, Messi scored 32 goals and provided 35 assists in 75 games across all tournaments, winning two Ligue 1 titles and a Trophee des Champions crown, but he was often booed by his own fans in his farewell season.