Lionel Messi return to Barcelona in doubt as duo ‘reject salary cuts’

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Barcelona have seen their hopes of bringing Lionel Messi back to the club dented after two players rejected a proposed salary cut to help the club reduce their wage bill. The La Liga giants are desperate to re-sign the iconic Argentine back to the Camp Nou two years after he was forced to leave due to their financial issues, and it seems those problems are continuing to plague the Catalan outfit.

The World Cup winner looks set to depart PSG when his contract expires this summer after turning down an offer to extend his current deal worth an estimated £94million.

The Ligue 1 champions are no longer prioritising his renewal as the French club look towards making their own cost cutting measures and that has opened the door for Messi to seal an emotional return to the club where he spent 21 years of his life and scored a record 672 goals, in addition to winning 36 trophies and the Ballon d’Or on seven occasions.

Messi was spotted with several suitcases in Barcelona last week, igniting speculation that he could be set to rejoin his former club. But as it stands, Barcelona could be denied the chance to get the deal over the line due to La Liga’s financial rules.

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President Javier Tebas recently imposed strict financial controls on all 20 top-tier clubs that prevents them from spending beyond their means. It is understood the club will have to trim their wage bill by a huge £180million in order to meet their threshold and  involve players in the squad taking a hit on their earnings, following the example of Frenkie de Jong and Sergi Roberto last summer.

According to Sport, Barca have approached Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen, signed on free transfers from AC Milan and Chelsea respectively in August, to ask them to reduce their salaries. Both players have declined, which means Barca face either having to offload them or other members of the squad in order to make room for Messi.

The report adds that Barca’s move was ‘not received well’ by Kessie and Christensen, who turned down offers from other clubs in Europe to head to the Camp Nou in 2022. The pair believe that their commitment has been ‘unquestionable’ since joining the club, meaning a reduction would be undeserved, and told Barca look to find another solution.

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Barcelona have already fallen foul of the restrictions, even without Messi’s eye-watering wages on their books, with starlet Gavi’s proposed new contract deemed to be null and void and the 18-year-old stripped of his shirt number.

One such move could be to sell another summer arrival, Brazilian winger Raphinha, who has courted interest from the Premier League clubs Arsenal and Chelsea in the past. The £57million signing from Leeds would likely make way for Messi in the team should the 35-year-old agree to return to Catalonia, and his reported £100,000-a-week earnings could leave some room in the budget.

But without Barcelona reducing salaries or selling players, it remains to be seen whether Messi will get his homecoming.

And that could force the legendary attacker to consider interest from elsewhere, after holding talks with MLS outfit Inter Miami earlier this year and receiving offers from Saudi Arabian clubs.

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