Only a couple of months into his stint as a manager at Barcelona, Xavi Hernandez has truly resurrected Barcelona. The 4-0 win over Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu is a testament to the work Xavi has done at his boyhood club. But, with a string of positive results, expectations are also rising from Xavi and Barca. Seeing the quality of football the club is producing and the players it has assembled, many Barcelona fans want Xavi to not bring back Lionel Messi. But, is that really possible?
Messi left Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain in the summer after seeing the Spanish giants being unable to renew his contract over financial constraints. Messi had also reportedly offered an opportunity to reduce his salary by 50%. Even such a generous option wasn’t good enough for Barca to keep their iconic player at the club anymore. The Argentine, hence, ended up signing for the French side PSG.
With Barcelona splashing the cash in the market – having signed Ferran Torres, Dani Alves, Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, etc. – and have also been linked with a few other top players in the summer, fans have been wondering if bringing Messi is possible.
Thanks to the club’s mega sponsorship deal with Spotify, the financial crisis has been averted to some extent. But, does the club have the money to re-sign Messi?
PSG are among the wealthiest clubs in the world. The French side is reportedly paying Messi 110 million euros over three seasons. The 2021-22 season sees Messi earning EUR 30 million while the following two seasons will see him earn EUR 40 million each. At this salary, it’s fair to say that Barca simply can’t afford Messi.
The Erling Haaland, Ousmane Dembele example
Barcelona are one of the top clubs interested in the signing of Norwegian hot-shot Erling Haaland. Real Madrid and Manchester City are reportedly leading the race for the Borussia Dortmund attacker but Barca have also held talks. While paying Haaland’s transfer fee of EUR 75 million isn’t a big problem, the salary that the player is demanding has reportedly put Barca off.
It also has to be noted that Barcelona manager Xavi has been willing to extend Ousmane Dembele’s contract but the wages that the club isn’t in a position to fulfill the Frenchman’s wage demands. The situation is such that the Catalans would rather let Dembele leave for free than extend his contract at higher wages.
