Lionel Messi moving further away from Barcelona reunion

One of the storylines to look out for during the summer pertains to the future of Lionel Messi. The current PSG star is set to be out of contract at the end of the season as his tenure with the Ligue 1 giant looks set to be over.

Messi has continually been linked with a return to Barcelona with executives and players openly expressing how much they’d like to see the return of their former icon. As weeks went by, a possible reunion has been gaining strength.

Until now.

For the first time since a reunion became a viable option, doubts have now creeped in as Messi is keen to resolve his future sooner rather than later.

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The problem, as it pertains to Barcelona, is they have yet to be given the official okay from LaLiga on their viability plan for next season. A plan that includes the return of Messi.

Without a green light from LaLiga, Barcelona cannot send an official proposal. They’ve sent an unofficial one to Messi’s camp and are aware of the terms on a possible deal.

Gerard Romero, who is well informed when it comes to Barcelona, has lowered his probability of Messi potentially coming back.

The offers currently on the table for Messi is going to MLS and joining Inter Milan or going to Saudi Arabia and signing for Al-Hilal. Al-Hilal have offered an exorbitant amount of money to convince Messi to join. If it were up to Jorge Messi, Lionel’s agent and father, it’d be the deal they would take.

But both Lionel and his family would prefer to return to Barcelona and are going to hold out as long as they can but there is only so much time they are willing to wait.

Something that still leaves Barcelona with some optimism is that according to reports, he and his partner have pre-enrolled their children in a school in Barcelona. But it doesn’t rule out a scenario where his family end up going back to Barcelona with Messi going to play somewhere else.

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In his most recent interviews, Xavi Hernandez has been asked about a Messi return with the Barcelona manager stating he would be thrilled to have him back but that ultimately it would come down to what Messi wants to do.

Also, in his mind, Messi’s potential return isn’t simply due to sentimentality, rather he can still be a difference maker despite his age.

“In terms of what I am in charge of, the football side of things, there are no doubts if Messi comes back, he is going to help us,” Xavi said. “I have made that clear to the president. I don’t have a single doubt about that because he is still a difference-maker, he is still hungry, he’s a winner and he is a leader.

With Messi wanting to make a decision in two weeks time, we’ll soon know where he will be playing next season. Both he and Barcelona want a reunion. The only thing seemingly standing in their way appears to be LaLiga.