Lionel Messi is expected to make a decision in the coming hours about where he will be playing his football next season, and it is certain that it will not be at Barcelona. Messi would have liked to return to the place he called home since he left Argentina as a 12-year-old, but his camp has told Barcelona that they cannot wait any longer for a proposal from them that has not arrived despite promises. The 35-year-old World Cup winner wants to stay in Europe, but the offers from the continent have not been attractive enough. In Saudi Arabia, government officials are already working on his arrival, as they have been told Messi has accepted a very lucrative offer from Al-Hilal. American side Inter Miami is another option, but a loan deal between them and Barcelona is not on the cards.
Barcelona’s media machine has been mobilised to blame Messi and La Liga for their failure to secure a deal, but they have at no point put any proposal to the player and they cannot offer any guarantee they will be able to do so before the September 1 deadline. Financial Fair Play limitations make any ambitious plan to bring him back an impossibility, and Barcelona’s debt is not being reduced at the rate it needs to be in order to have a budget for the players that will allow them to be competitive in Europe. Manager Xavi said yesterday that 99% of what was required for the player to return to the club was down to Messi himself, but this is based on an intentionally wrong reading of the affair. It is now damage limitation time for Barcelona as they set about trying to show they did everything possible to bring him home.