Is Lionel Messi Returning to Barcelona After World Cup Win? PSG Puts End on Rumors

There are speculations that Lionel Messi will return to FC Barcelona or sign a deal with Major League Soccer club Inter Miami after his Paris Saint-Germaine (PSG) contract ends. However, PSG itself has put all these rumors to rest as the Argentina captain re-signed with the French club.

Messi's contract with PSG will end in June 2023, and clubs worldwide scramble to get the "GOAT" on their side.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta earlier said he would love Messi to return to the Spanish club where it all began.

However, the Qatar-owned French team had given the best offer as Messi signed with Paris Saint-Germaine after four months of talks between PSG football director Luis Campos and Messi's father, Jorge Messi. They also met with PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi while in Doha.

That would mean that PSG keeps their "Big 3" of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, and Lionel Messi intact, at least for another year, as Messi agreed to sign a one-year deal with the option of another year with his current side.

Lionel Messi has led Argentina to a World Cup victory in Qatar.

FC Barcelona Still Has Not Approached Lionel Messi

BBC Sport's Guillem Balague noted that Lionel Messi's old club has yet to approach him about returning. However, his current club has been quite active in wooing him. Balague, a European football expert, said that "it is practically all agreed with PSG."

He clarified that it is not that Messi does not want to go back to Barca, where he spent 21 years, but the club has yet to approach him or his father to offer them anything.

"He has not been asked the question," Balague noted. He added that Messi is happy with the terms of the deal and is leading a balanced life over in Paris.

The deal is expected to speed up once he returns from his much-needed break after the World Cup.

Lionel Messi's Deal with Paris Saint-Germaine Still Verbal

Lionel Messi is still resting his body after a long and grueling World Cup campaign in his hometown of Rosario, Argentina. He seemed he does not want to talk about any soccer-related contracts at the moment.

CBS Sports reported that his contract with PSG is only verbal. During their talks in Qatar, Messi and the PSG management agreed to resume their negotiations sometime in early 2023.

So far, little is known about how they would all agree and place that deal in writing.

However, according to the Daily Mail, the understood agreement would mean he would stay in Paris until 2024, with the option of staying until 2025. While the deal is only verbal, FC Barcelona would not be happy that their former star might not return.

It also seems that the Barca management may have already accepted that fact, as Laporta already said, "On the subject of Messi, we can't generate expectations."

He added that "Messi is a PSG player and has a contract with them." He did not admit that he was still the best player of all time for them.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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