Lionel Messi’s future: the reasons why Barcelona is not a tangible option

And it’s a fact, Lionel Messi will say goodbye to the Eiffel Tower at the end of this season. It was known unofficially, but the word of the Paris Saint-Germain coach, Christophe Galtier, announcing that the man from Rosario will play his last match at the Parc des Princes against Clermont has established the formal framework for his definitive departure when his two-year contract expires. And the question keeps floating: Where will the best footballer in the world play from now on? All eyes, of course, are on Catalonia. However, a return to Barcelona does not appear as a tangible option in these decisive hours for the future of the world champion.

The presentation of the new shirt that PSG made on their social networks shocked more than one. It is that among the figures of him that of Messi appeared as a model posing with the brand new jacket. Despite suspicions, this has not meant a change in the relationship between the Argentine and French institutions. The end of the French football adventure is written. He greets each other with the celebration of the recent scudetto won, amid the resistance of the hard core of the Parisian fans.

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And, just like his father said, George Messi, Leo will make a decision after this goodbye. They have to decide their new destination and that choice will be based on the offers they have on the table, so Barcelona doesn’t appear as a viable option in that sense, at least until the time this article was published.

Why? Mainly because of the Blaugrana club he presides over Joanna Laporta For now, he hasn’t sent him a formal contract offer. And the wait for 10 Argentina national team it has a limit. Although there have been informal talks for weeks between Barcelona and Messi’s entourage, they have never materialized into a formal contract for the 35-year-old.

The main reason is that the culé team is not yet in the financial condition not only to incorporate Messi but also to sign new players. It is also unknown if before August 31, when the LaLiga booklet closes, he will be able to do so. And, as he could confirm clarion, Messi’s intention is not to wait until that date, but to make a faster decision.

Is that the ghosts of his traumatic departure from Barça seem to intimidate him again. Leo had a difficult time during the tug of war with Laporta in his final months at the Catalan entity. And the twist in the end it ended up crumbling: when it seemed that it would remain, they called the father to inform him that there was no way to renew the bond. It is enough to remember his tears of pain at the farewell press conference to understand the stress he experienced in those troubled days.

And you don’t want to go through something like that. It is that at all times from Barcelona they let him know that the situation would be resolved in one way or another, which then did not happen. Any resemblance to the present cannot be mere coincidence. In today’s informal conversations they let you know that they are working around the clock to get the Okay de LaLiga to the feasibility plan presented. The promise to send him the contract offer is delayed from week to week and the time is drastically shortened.

Right now, the only precise offer Messi has is that of Al Hilal from Saudi Arabiawho proposed a contract for 400 million dollars. The strategy of the Arabs, in addition to the juicy figure, is to seduce him by repeating the historic rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldocurrently in Al-Nassr, as well as adding other leading figures in Arab football, such as Karim Benzema.

Abdul Aziz bin Turki Al-FaisalSaudi Arabia’s sports minister, referring to the situation of Messi and Benzema, asked reporters to calm down and said: “We have to wait for the clubs (for PSG and Real Madrid) to officially announce their departures”. Something that is already happening.

Will Leo Messi choose to go to a less competitive league when he still feels at the top of his level? He may not be ideal, of course, but nothing is excluded in this scenario. Not even the possibility of landing in the United States, more precisely at Inter Miami, which has David Beckham among its main shareholders and which is aiming for everything The flea.

Will any other alternatives appear on the horizon? Anything can happen and, it is insisted, nothing is excluded because nothing has been resolved so far. Next week will be presented as the key to Lionel Messi’s decision who sees how weeks and days pass without receiving from Barcelona the formal proposal to finalize a return that is currently unattainable.