Argentina skipper Lionel Messi will depart Paris Saint-Germain and return to Spanish LaLiga giants Barcelona next summer.
This is according to highly-respected Argentine journalist Veronica Brunati.
In a tweet, Brunati, who covers the Argentina national team, wrote: “July 1, 2023, Lionel Messi will be a Barca player.”
In 2021, Messi left Barcelona to sign for PSG on a two-year contract, with his exit chiefly down to the financial difficulties the Catalan giants were facing.
Messi has begun the 2022-23 campaign in impress form, scoring seven goals in 12 club appearances across all competitions.
However, Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano said that while Barcelona “are dreaming” of bringing Messi back, nothing, as yet, has been agreed with the player and club.
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Romano said: “Speaking to sources close to Leo Messi, there is still nothing agreed with any club; not with Barcelona – still no official bid.
“What is true is that Barcelona are dreaming of Lionel Messi’s return. They are discussing about it internally but there is still no official bid.
“There is also still nothing agreed with Paris Saint-Germain who are loving Leo Messi’s impact, especially in this second season. They want to extend his contract, but at the moment also, in this case, still nothing advanced.
“Why? Because Leo Messi wants to focus on the World Cup with Argentina, wants to focus on Paris Saint-Germain’s season, to win the Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain and then decide in 2023 what he wants to do.
“So Barca are dreaming of Messi, PSG, want to keep him. But at the moment, still nothing decided.”
Earlier this week, Barcelona boss Xavi refused to rule out bringing Messi back to Camp Nou, with Messi’s contract at Paris Saint-Germain set to expire at the end of this season.
“On Leo – we will see. Let’s see,” Xavi told reporters ahead of Barcelona’s Champions League Group C fixture against Inter Milan on Tuesday night.
“I don’t think it’s the moment to talk about this. I love Leo a lot. He is my friend. I wish him the best. Barcelona is his home but I don’t think it is the moment to talk about Leo.
“I don’t think we are doing him a favour. He is happy and enjoying himself in Paris and I wish him all the best.”
Meanwhile last week Barcelona vice president Eduard Romeu said it would be viable to bring Messi back to the club on a financial level.
“It would be possible financially because if he returned, it would be as a free agent,” Romeu told Catalunya Radio.
“But it’s a decision which has to be made by the coaching staff and the player. It doesn’t correspond to me [to make those decisions], but it would be viable.”
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