Lionel Messi could join Barcelona on loan from MLS side Inter Miami in surprise twist – report
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Updated 31/05/2023 at 10:25 GMT+1
The saga of World Cup winner Lionel Messi is showing no signs of slowing down as four different teams continue to make a push to sign him when his contract expires at PSG in the summer. A new report from L’Equipe suggests that there could be a new, unexpected way for Messi to make it back to Barcelona whilst also satisfying a potential future deal with Inter Miami in MLS.
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Lionel Messi could join Barcelona on loan from Inter Miami rather than move to Saudi Arabia, according to a surprise report.
Messi’s contract with newly crowned Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain expires at the end of the current season and he has been linked heavily with a return to Barcelona as well as lucrative moves to America and Saudi Arabia.
It had previously been reported that he had agreed a blockbuster move to Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, following in the path of Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo who joined Al-Nassr in December last year.
However L’Equipe’s report says that Messi and his wife are concerned about moving to Saudi Arabia with their three children, and whilst a new proposal from PSG is on the table their preference is a return to Catalonia.
The problem is that Barcelona have serious financial issues and might not be able to register Messi, not only because of his expected high salary but also depending on which other signings they make in relation to potential departures.
And the L’Equipe report says that a surprising new option is now being considered whereby Inter Miami, owned by David Beckham and managed by Phil Neville, would actually sign Messi on a free transfer and then loan him back to Barcelona for either six or 18 months.
This proposal would give Messi one or two more seasons at the top of European football before moving to America to play in MLS.
This could match up perfectly with the 2024 Copa America, which will be hosted in the US and will be a bumper edition featuring the 10 teams of CONMEBOL as well as six sides from CONCACAF.
It is not mentioned in the report what it would mean for Sergio Busquets, Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba, three players whose futures have all been intrinsically linked Messi’s.
It is also not mentioned how big a salary Inter Miami would sign Messi to, as well as how much of that salary Barca would pay, especially when considering the nuanced rules within MLS when it comes to loaning out designated players, the high-salaried players whose entire wage does not count against the salary cap.
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