Barcelona, the La Liga giants, are reportedly planning to re-sign Lionel Messi from Paris Saint-Germain.
WITHIN NIGERIA recalls that Messi left Barcelona in August 2021 for PSG. PSG’s current contract with the 35-year-old Argentine star expires in June of this year.
According to Fichajes, a Spanish news outlet, Barcelona is willing to offload players like Franck Kessie, Raphinha, and Andreas Christensen in order to raise funds to resign their legend, Messi.
Messi’s future at PSG is currently uncertain, with reports claiming that the multiple Ballon d’Or winner is mocked at the French club.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta recently spoke about Messi’s return to the club after a fan asked him about it in a recent video that went viral on social media.
However, given Barcelona’s current financial constraints, re-signing Messi will be difficult, as the Blaugrana will first have to lighten their wage bill by selling off players such as Kessie, Raphinha, and Christensen, according to the report.
Aubameyang And Firmino In FC Barcelona’s Transfer Wishlist
Meanwhile, FC Barcelona is said to be interested in Chelsea’s out-of-favour striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino ahead of the summer transfer window.
Despite the fact that Robert Lewandowski remains Barcelona’s number one striker, the Spanish club wants to sign either Firmino or Aubameyang to compete with the Polish striker.
Aubameyang spent part of last season at Barcelona after leaving Arsenal in January 2022. He was impressive during his brief tenure at the club, but the arrival of Lewandowski reduced his playing time, forcing him to join Chelsea last summer.
The re-signing of the Gabonese striker from Chelsea is expected to be very cheap, and Firmino, whose Liverpool contract expires on July 1, will become a free agent this summer, providing Barca coach Xavi with reliable and inexpensive options to Lewandowski.
Even though he has lost his starting spot at Chelsea, the 33-year-old’s mentality is thought to have remained top-notch. He has continued to work hard in the gym in order to maintain his place in the starting eleven.
Despite the fact that Aubameyang is still not in Chelsea’s long-term plans, the club is willing to let him go this summer as part of what is expected to be a significant player purge given the number of additions made in the previous two transfer windows.
Aubameyang wanted to return to Barcelona in January of this year, but the Spanish club refused to make the necessary financial commitments.
Despite being close to its financial fair play limit, the club is attempting to negotiate more flexibility with La Liga for the 2019 season.
If a deal for Firmino does not work out, Barcelona intends to work on bringing Aubameyang back to the club in the coming weeks, given that he still has a year left on his Chelsea contract.
Chelsea’s reintroduction of the former Arsenal forward has not gone well. He has only three goals in 20 games across all competitions.