La Liga president Javier Tebas has cast doubt on the possibility of Lionel Messi returning to Barcelona due to the club’s financial issues.
The Argentine forward, who is out of contract at PSG in the summer, has been linked with a move back to Barcelona, where he won 10 La Liga titles and five Champions League trophies.
Tebas has previously expressed his desire to see Messi back in La Liga next season, but he now believes it will be “complicated” for Barcelona to bring him back. “If you ask me the question today, Messi’s return to Barça is very complicated,” he said in an interview with RMC.
“We have to see how that will evolve, but several conditions would have to be met. Barça players would have to leave, there would have to be a reduction in wages. And then you have to know what salary Messi would have at Barça. Barça is not like PSG, which has a gas and money tap which allows it to have a large payroll. As we speak, it’s complicated for Messi to return to Barça.”
Barcelona officials reportedly met with La Liga officials this week to discuss the possibility of bringing Messi back to the club. However, the club’s financial situation, which was already fragile before the COVID-19 pandemic, has been further impacted by the pandemic.