Barcelona economic vice president Eduard Romeu has stated that Lionel Messi’s return to the club as a player next summer is financially feasible. The 35-year-old, who left Barca for PSG in 2021 because the club could not afford to renew his deal, will be out of contract with the Parisians.
“It would be possible financially because if he returned, it would be as a free agent,”
Romeu told Catalunya Radio on Wednesday when asked whether the Blaugrana could afford to bring Messi back.
“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.”
Barcelona president Joan Laporta hinted at a sensational Messi return in the summer, telling ESPN that the forward’s chapter at the club is still not over.
Laporta believes it is his responsibility to ensure Messi has a “more beautiful ending” at Camp Nou than he did when he was forced to say goodbye to the club amid tears just over a year ago.
Coach Xavi attempted to downplay the possibility of a reunion with his former teammate in July, but he did say “we will see in the future” during the club’s tour to the United States.
According to sources close to Messi, his current focus is solely on the upcoming World Cup with Argentina and having a successful season with PSG.
Since Messi’s departure, the landscape at Barcelona has shifted dramatically. Asset sales totaling more than 700 million euros, dubbed “unfair” by PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi on Wednesday, enabled the club to invest in players such as Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, and Jules Kounde over the summer.
Their LaLiga salary cap has thus risen from minus 144 million to over €600 million, but Romeu claims that while they were able to sign players like Lewandowski and afford to bring Messi back, they are still not financially sound.
“Without boasting, we have saved Barca, but the club is not economically healthy yet. There’s still a need for austerity, and there is a lot of work to do. [I predict] Barca will be healthy within five years [of our mandate]. In the ’24-25 season, we will be at the level we should be,”
the vice president added.
