If Lionel Messi completes a heartwarming return to Barcelona at the end of this season, Xavi has assured him that he will play in a new position.
Lionel Messi is anticipated to depart Paris Saint-Germain at the conclusion of his contract, and Xavi has informed him that he’ll be utilized in a fresh role should he return to Barcelona.
PerESPN, negotiations between Messi and PSG are currently at a standstill.
According to different sources, PSG is seeking a 25% decrease in Lionel Messi’s annual gross salary of €40 million, but the player is not interested in lowering his wages.
Additionally, PSG’s recent Champions League exit at the hands of Bayern Munich has resulted in some of the club’s fans jeering Lionel Messi during the team’s previous two home matches, which has left the player feeling upset.
Messi wants at least one more crack at winning the Champions League, according toThe Independent’schief football writer Miguel Delaney, and so a move to Major League Soccer outfit Inter Miami may need to wait.
The franchise owned by David Beckham is rumored to be considering the offer of an equity stake to persuade Lionel Messi to sign with the team this summer, but the player has stated his desire to continue playing in Europe until the 2024 Copa América.
Will Messi return to Barcelona this summer?
It appears that Lionel Messi is most likely to return to Barcelona, as the player had never wanted to depart from Camp Nou in the first place.
Having lived in Castelldefels for many years, Lionel Messi and his family had established themselves there, but they were forced to move to Paris in August 2021 due to Barcelona’s precarious financial condition.
Having fulfilled his lifelong dream of leading Argentina to victory in the World Cup last December, Lionel Messi is widely expected to secure an unprecedented eighth Ballon d’Or award later this year.
The 35-year-old has nothing more to prove to anyone but remains a fierce competitor, intent on winning trophies – especially the Champions League, a competition he hasn’t won since 2015.
What position does Xavi want Messi to play at Barcelona?
Xavi will feel that his former teammates can help bring Barcelona back to the top of European football next season.
He plans to use Messi as a midfielder – a prospect that the player himself is enthused by.
This is according to Guillem Balague, journalist and author of the most comprehensive Messi biography available.
Writing forBBC Sport, Balague revealed: “Leo and [Barcelona president Joan] Laporta have not spoken but obviously Barcelona keep pushing the idea that yes, they are going to go for it. The main engine is manager Xavi who speaks very regularly to Messi and quite clearly paints him a picture of a team that needs his quality.
“Xavi tells Messi he will be used as one of the two midfielders in front of the holding one, very close to what he does with Argentina. Xavi has thought of different ways for that to work and every time Leo hears about this, his eyes light up.”
Here’s how that could look on paper – when Barcelona are attacking, anyway.
Messi would be deployed in front of Frenkie de Jong in midfield, playing behind Robert Lewandowski with Pedri and/or Gavi to the side of him.