Lionel Messi's father offers huge update on potential Barcelona return
By Tom Gott
The father of Lionel Messi has confirmed the World Cup winner is looking to return to Barcelona this summer.
Messi has already announced his departure from Paris Saint-Germain, ending his two-year stint in France in the hope of sealing a return to Camp Nou ahead of next season.
Re-signing Messi has been among Barcelona's top priorities this summer but the Blaugrana have been waiting for approval of their financial plan from La Liga, having been temporarily banned from registering new players after exceeding their salary cap.
90min understands that La Liga are expected to approve of Barcelona's plans imminently and the league champions will immediately begin work thrashing out a contract for Messi, whose father met with Barcelona president Joan Laporta on Monday.
Indeed, the meeting between Laporta and Messi's father, Jorge, was captured taking place by Toni Juanmarti, who spoke to the senior Messi afterwards.
“Messi wants to return to Barça and I would love for him to come back," Jorge said. "It is an option."
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Jorge later told Jijantes FC: "We trust that Messi can return."
Barcelona are confident of reaching an agreement to re-sign Messi, who left the club in 2021 due to their financial struggles, and will also use their new-found freedom to finalise contract extensions for a number of first-team stars.
Midfielder Gavi and centre-back Ronald Araujo both agreed long-term extensions months ago but Barcelona's attempts to register those deals were blocked by La Liga, who banned the club from adding to their salary while they were already over their cap.
Since then, Barcelona have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to prove to La Liga that they can afford their plans, with the recent departures of both Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba going a long way to help that cause.
Registering Gavi and Araujo's extensions is high on the list of priorities for Barcelona who, once negotiations with Messi come to an end, will also begin pursuing a number of other transfer targets.
Athletic Club's Inigo Martinez could join after confirming his departure from the Basque side this summer, while Manchester City duo Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan are also targets for Barcelona.
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