Barcelona boss Xavi ‘asks president to bring Lionel Messi back from PSG’ in sensational transfer move
BARCELONA boss Xavi is reportedly eyeing a 2023 reunion with Lionel Messi, asking president Joan Laporta to bring the Argentine back from Paris Saint-Germain.
Messi left Barca last summer at the end of his contract with the club left paralysed at the time due to their financial situation.
PSG stumped up the cash for the 35-year-old, who went on to claim a seventh Ballon d’Or at the end of last year.
However, Messi‘s first season in the French capital was underwhelming.
The football icon managed just 11 goals and 15 assists across all competitions.
Despite Messi’s lack of goals, PSG went on to reclaim the Ligue 1 title off Lille with very little challenge.
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But according to Sport, a Messi return to Barca could be on the cards in 2023.
Former team-mate and now Barca boss Xavi has instructed club president Laporta to try and lure Messi back to the Nou Camp.
Xavi believes Messi would bring a lot to the club both on an economic level and a sporting one.
There is belief that Messi has many years left in his career.
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A return to the club where it all started as a 13-year-old would be a free transfer.
Messi has a just one year left on his contract at PSG, which would allow him to walk out next summer.
President Laporta has openly stated Messi’s chapter at Barca is not finished.
The 60-year-old even went as far as to say “I owe him one”.
In an interview with ESPN, Laporta said: “I don’t believe Messi’s chapter at Barcelona is over.
“And I believe it is our responsibility to make sure that chapter is still open, that it hasn’t closed.
“To have a moment to do it how it should have been done so that he may have a much more splendid ending than what he had. If I feel like I owe him one? Yes.
“Morally, as the president of Barcelona, I think I did what needed to be done.
“But also as Barcelona’s president, and personally, I believe I owe him one.”
Barca are seemingly getting their finances back on track.
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The apparently cash-strapped Catalan club have splurged on Robert Lewandowski and former Leeds main man Raphinha.
Sevilla’s Jules Kounde could be next in a £51m move.