In the summer of 2021, Lionel Messi gave his tearful farewell to his home and court club FC Barcelona and joined the French star ensemble of Paris Saint-Germain. The Argentine’s contract with PSG expires at the end of June. It is hardly surprising that there is speculation in the media about a return of the prodigal son to the bosom of the Catalans. However, not everyone at Barca should welcome Messi with open arms.
After more than 20 years in the jersey of FC Barcelona, Lionel Messi represented the club like no other star in the football world for a club. Promoted to the professional team in 2005, the Argentine international celebrated four titles in the Champions League and ten Spanish championships with Barca. The separation in 2021 came as a surprise. Assumptions that it could be a temporary farewell were not long in coming.
The majority of fans would be happy to welcome the 35-year-old back at Camp Nou, but there are said to be reservations on the part of the players. Four well-known players from FC Barcelona can supposedly live very well without Messi. This is reported by “El Nacional”.
Accordingly, Ansu Fati, Ousmane Dembélé, Marc-André ter Stegen and Robert Lewandowski are rather critical of Messi’s comeback at the Catalans.
That’s why four stars don’t want Messi back at Barca
Ter Stegen has long been said to have a rather tense relationship with Messi. When the German national goalkeeper addressed words to Messi when he said goodbye, he openly emphasized that people did not always agree.
On the one hand, Lewandowski is said to fear for his role as a superstar on the offensive, but on the other hand, he should add that Messi did not vote for him in past world footballer elections.
Barca youngster Fati was considered the logical successor to La Pulga, even got the number 10 jersey from Barca, but has rarely delivered lately. A return of Messi would probably further deprive him of his chances. And Dembele? The Frenchman, according to “El Nacional”, simply never really got along with Messi and felt he wasn’t treating him appropriately.
How hot a return from Messi to the Spanish giants is, however, can be questioned anyway. Especially since FC Barcelona is currently not allowed to sign any new players anyway due to years of mismanagement. First of all, the salary budget would have to be noticeably relieved, Messi would also have to agree to significant cuts. According to “Sport”, however, the club management wants to meet with the league management to explore all possibilities.
The extreme opposite would probably flourish for the living legend if he followed the call from Saudi Arabia. Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano recently reported that Al-Hilal has presented Messi with an offer that would guarantee him a whopping €400m per season.