Barcelona has made no secret of their desire to re-sign Lionel Messi, but the club’s financial predicament is a huge impediment. Messi will reportedly have to accept a 75% pay cut from his previous Barcelona contract in order to return to Camp Nou. The 2022 World Cup winner’s time at Paris Saint-Germain is coming to an end, as the suspended player has decided not to renew his contract with the Ligue 1 club.
According to Sport, the Catalan club is drafting a two-year contract worth a fraction of his previous pay at the club, which was roughly €100 million gross in the 2020-21 season. Furthermore, the agreement will include a clause that allows Lionel Messi to leave after one season for a €25 million gross salary.
Lionel Messi’s potential Barca return to hit many roadblocks
Barcelona are making significant cuts in order to comply with the league’s tough Financial Fair Play rules to facilitate Lionel Messi’s emotional return after he had left the club for free in the summer of 2021. It were the same registration difficulties which prevented the Catalans from registering their all-time topscorer who was on a humungous contract.
Add to their woes, due to Barcelona’s financial difficulties, La Liga rejected their request to register new contracts this season for players such as Gavi, Ronald Araujo, and Marcos Alonso, and the club is desperately looking for ways to minimise costs. Gerard Pique’s retirement in November and the January sale of Memphis Depay to Atletico Madrid have helped, but La Liga president Javier Tebas has frequently told Barcelona that they must save an additional €200 million before they can even consider recruiting new players.
In an effort to slash costs even further, Barcelona have shut down their official TV channel, BarcaTV. According to El Partidazo de Cope, Barcelona were spending between €8-6 million each year to run the channel and made the decision to ‘balance figures and adjust to Financial Fair Play’.
If Barcelona can find a method to comply with La Liga’s tough financial restrictions, it will open the door for Lionel Messi to return to the Nou Camp, after reports have confirmed that PSG do not prioritise tying him down to a new contract. The Blaugrana have to bring in another €100 million in transfer fees to comply with La Liga’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) laws, and adding Messi would complicate that process even more.
Meanwhile, Messi was fined and suspended by his club after an unapproved travel to Saudi Arabia following PSG’s league loss to Lorient. While he is expected to receive offers from other leagues, his most lucrative reported offer comes from the Saudi Pro League.
According to The Telegraph, Messi’s representatives have began negotiations with the Saudi authorities about a relocation to Saudi Arabia. Unlike in other leagues, state involvement in such manoeuvres is not unusual. The contract might be valued up to £320 million per year, which is more than the astronomical sums surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to the same country.