The Lionel Messi free agency saga is off and running as the Argentine wrapped up his tenure with Paris Saint-Germain in a 3-2 loss to Clermont Foot on Saturday at the Parc des Princes.
FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta met with Jorge Messi, the father and agent of the 35-year-old, and FOX Sports Argentina’s Veronica Brunati outlined what occurred during the meeting between the two men.
Resumen de la reunión de hoy entre Joan Laporta y Jorge Messi en la casa del presidente del FC Barcelona
✅ Lionel #Messi quiere esperar un poco más la oferta del FC Barcelona porque su prioridad es regresar al equipo culé y seguir jugando en Europa un año más, lo cual motivó la…— Veronica Brunati (@verobrunati) June 5, 2023
Brunati reported on Monday that the 2022 FIFA World Cup winner wants to wait a little longer for the offer from Barcelona. Messi’s priority is to return to the Catalan team and continue playing in Europe for another year, which motivated today’s meeting.
Additionally, she reveals that the Spanish club sent him the proposal twice, but presenting the “formal” binding offer depends on La Liga approving the Viability Plan to comply with the Financial Fair Play.
La Liga will reportedly give the green light to Barcelona’s Feasibility Plan and the signing of Messi this week; for this reason, they asked for patience and told them about having the approval.
Finally, Brunati concludes her reporting by stating that what is concrete are the offers from Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal (he prefers to continue in Europe also for his family) and Inter Miami (advanced this week). But it is not legally viable for Inter to buy him and transfer him to Barcelona; he should play 16 weeks at the American club first.
