Although the transfer window hasn’t yet opened for business, it’s now certain that Lionel Messi won’t be playing for Paris Saint-Germain after Sunday’s final Ligue 1 fixture.
PSG manager, Christophe Galtier, announced on Thursday lunchtime that the Argentinian would leave the club, and though his next destination still isn’t decided, it would appear that one club in particular are doing their upmost to get him to put pen to paper.
Despite being riddled with debt, it hasn’t stopped Messi’s old club Barcelona courting him, but that hasn’t sat well with Jonathan Johnson.
? PSG manager Christophe Galtier has just confirmed that Leo Messi will leave PSG at the end of the season.
“I had a privilege of coaching the best player in the history of football. It will be Leo’s last match at the Parc des Princes against Clermont”. pic.twitter.com/hieCFUFBQm
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 1, 2023
Writing in his exclusive CaughtOffside Substack, he suggested that the potential loss of other high-profile stars just so the club can afford Messi, is a desperate ploy.
“I think if there was a serious desire from Barcelona to move Jules Koundé on, there would definitely be a number of clubs interested in him, including from outside of the Premier League,” he said.
“It might not appeal to him that much, but I’m sure that PSG would at least consider the possibility of bringing him in if he was available at the right price.
“To me, it kind of feels like a desperate rush to be able to put themselves into a financial position to be able to bring Messi back into the fold, even if that’s understandable from a romantic footballing point of view.
“It also suggests that the medium to long term strategy at the club could still be very questionable. It strikes me as very short sighted to potentially move on somebody like Koundé who hasn’t even really been played in his proper position at Barça in the last year or so.”
In many respects, putting all of their eggs in one basket is asking for trouble as far as Barca are concerned. What if Messi were to get injured or if he didn’t slot back into the team as everyone hoped that he might?
“It’s not the most sound logic to me, which I think is also reflected by the fact that it seems like Messi is still quite far away from a potential return to Camp Nou – and that that return might not happen at all,” Johnson added.
“For Barça to potentially sacrifice other players in that squad too means that they could run into more problems than they find solutions regarding a Messi return.”
There’s still a long way to go before any deal can be concluded, and after what happened back in 2021 when Messi was led to believe he would be signing his new deal, only for president, Joan Laporta, to concede that the club couldn’t afford him, the Argentinian and his family will be wary of another broken promise.
Saudi Arabia is another potential destination, and for Barcelona’s future, it might be the best option all round.