Lionel Messi’s holiday with Paris Saint-Germain will come to an end in June, according to Loic Tanzi of L’Equipe.
The Argentine signed a two-year deal with the French champions in the summer of 2021/22 as he was forced to leave Barcelona due to the club’s financial struggles. He has been great for the French champions but he has been unable to deliver more than the league title for them, whose main goal is the UEFA Champions League.
Despite this, they have looked for ways to renew his deal because he has been economically beneficial to the team as well as a big hit in the sports department. Those talks have taken longer and now, Barcelona is back in the mix.
The Catalans are exploring ways to bring their golden boy back to the club for one last dance. It is reported that Messi and his family would like a move back to the club as well. The reports claim that as the days go by, the likelihood of that return becomes a possibility.
His recent unsanctioned trip to Saudi Arabia and the following punishment given to him could also play a factor in the decision reported by L’Equipe’s Tanzi. It will also provide a boost for Barcelona to step up the discussions to bring him back to the club in the summer.
His return, however, has not been received well by all at the club.
It was recently reported that Mateu Alemany, the club’s sporting director, would be leaving the club after the summer window. He, alongside technical director Jordi Cruijff, are reportedly unhappy about a lot of the board’s decisions and have put their foot down against them.
Messi’s return is one of those for Alemany but for Cruijff, it is a small part of a larger issue. Alemany will head to Aston Villa to work with Unai Emery in his ambitious project that starts with taking the Villans to the UEFA Europa League first.
One of the reassurances he got that made him decide on Villa as his next club is the promise to work with freedom and no interference from above, which he has not enjoyed particularly with the case of Lionel Messi’s return.
Former Real Betis Sporting Director Antonio Cordon is supposedly the favourite to take over, but losing Alemany will be a blow to the Blaugrana even if Messi leaves PSG and returns to the Spotify Camp Nou this summer.
