Camp Nou team has offered to pay $27 million per season to persuade Lionel Messi to return as a free agent in the summer of 2023, according to the Catalonia Diario Sport.
Barca has been exploring ways to sign Messi with the organizer La Liga and prepare for the Argentine star’s return to Camp Nou this summer.
Diario Sport’s sources emphasized that Barca is confident it can meet Messi’s salary demands after meeting with the relevant parties. They could offer a salary level of a quarter of the income in the 2020-2021 season, his final season at the club before joining PSG. At the time, the Argentine star earned around $110 million.
The contract between Messi and Barca could last until June 2025. However, the 35-year-old star has the option to terminate the contract in the summer of 2024 or continue playing until it expires.
Diario Sport also emphasized that to push this deal through, Barca will have to cut its salary fund and improve its finances by selling players or reducing salaries. Barca is said to be looking for some sponsorship partners to support this deal. These investors will be required to cover most of the salary costs for Barca to recruit Messi. In exchange, they will be committed to sharing profits from the commercial activities that the Argentine star generates.
On April 19, La Liga President Javier Tebas said that Barca could not sign a contract with Messi under current circumstances and is waiting for a feasible financial plan from Camp Nou’s management for next season. Tebas hopes that Barca can take the necessary steps to re-sign Messi but stressed that La Liga will not change any rules to benefit this deal. “Everything is complicated, but I think Barca is capable,” Tebas said.
Earlier this week, journalist Adrian Sanchez, who specializes in reporting on Barca, revealed that Messi reserved a spot for his children at the school they attended in Barcelona before the family moved to Paris in August 2021. Sanchez emphasized that this could be a decisive factor for the future of the Argentine star and showed that Messi always wants to return to Barcelona.
After moving to PSG in the summer of 2021, Messi and his wife Antonella still reserved school spots for their children at their old school in Barcelona.
Last week, the Barca insider Gerard Romero also revealed that the Camp Nou management had submitted a plan to La Liga to bring Messi back, but the league leadership rejected some points in the proposal. However, Barca is preparing to present a new plan.
Barca President Joan Laporta is also optimistic that the team will sign a contract with superstar Lionel Messi in the summer of 2023. Vice President Rafa Yuste admitted he had worked with Messi on the possibility of the two sides reuniting. Coach Xavi also affirmed that he is always open to welcoming his former teammate.