Favourite: Barcelona
With the approach of the end of his contract with Saint-Germain, who suspended him for several days for having gone to Saudi Arabia without obtaining authorization, the Spanish newspapers continue to evoke the return of Messi to his old team, Barcelona.
Messi dreams of returning to Catalonia at the age of 36, and the Camp Nou crowd still clings to that hope: on several occasions in recent weeks, club supporters have chanted the name of the icon Messi .
But the process is complicated for Barcelona, ​​due to financial worries. According to the daily ‘Mundo Deportivo’, the club is still awaiting approval from the Spanish League for the ‘feasibility plan’, which includes the extension of Gavi players, Uruguayan Ronald Araujo, Marcos Alonso and Sergi Roberto, in addition to the feedback. of Messi.
But in order to register players without going over the salary cap, Barcelona need to cut their spending by €200m.
One of Barcelona’s first decisions to achieve this goal was to shut down their TV channel, ‘Barca TV’, on June 30. According to the club, the chain loses 13 million euros annually, but according to the employees, many of whom will find themselves unemployed, the losses do not exceed six million euros.
Is it enough? Controversial League president Javier Tebas expressed his doubts over the Argentine’s return when he told RMC Sports: “Until today Messi’s return seems complicated to me. Barcelona are not not like Paris Saint-Germain, who have a gas tap and money”. offer high salaries. »
Saudi Arabia.. the bilateral duel with Ronaldo
The reunion between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi and the marketing of a possible candidacy file to host the World Cup in the years to come seems like a crazy bet, but the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is able to achieve it in view of of its extraordinary financial capacities.
Messi was originally tied to a contract with the Saudi Tourism Authority to market him via social media, and this was the subject of Messi and his family’s trip to Saudi Arabia, which led to his suspension of the Qatari club. Doubts hang over the possibility of Messi joining the Saudi League, and reforming a duel with Ronaldo after the one that captivated viewers in Spain when the “Don” wore the colors of Real Madrid.
Several recent reports indicated that Al-Hilal Club had made a tempting offer seven times for the best player in the world, which could amount to 400 million euros annually to bring in the world champion crowned last December in Qatar.
Last February, an official familiar with the matter confirmed to AFP, who preferred not to be named, that Saudi Arabia was seeking to forge partnerships with Messi to support its organization of the World Cup. It was reported a few months ago that Saudi Arabia wanted to submit a joint dossier with Greece and Egypt to host the 2030 edition, but the candidacy has not yet been formalized.
After Ronaldo’s lavish contract with Al-Nassr, doubts are no longer great whether he can make a similar or better offer for Messi and break more records. But will Messi isolate himself in a second-tier tournament a year before the 2024 Copa America, which may be his last on the international stage?
Future option: Miami
This hypothesis has become less common in transfer rumors, but it does exist: a new challenge for Messi at Inter Miami, Florida, in the North American Championship, which has always featured late-career South American stars , like the Brazilian Kaka, the Argentinian Goncalo Higuain or currently the Brazilian Douglas Costa.
This option brings the family closer to Miami, where Messi has a solid base. Former Saint-Germain England player David Beckham is one of the club’s franchise owners, and the former Manchester United star recently appeared at the “Can de Loge” center for Saint-Germain exercises, taking pictures with the Argentinian.
“I don’t deny that there is some truth to the rumors of interest in Lionel Messi. He will be a tremendous addition to the North American League,” Inter Miami coach Phil Neville said late. FEBRUARY.
Read the Latest World News Today on The Eastern Herald.
