Barcelona have taken a major step towards bringing back the greatest player in their history, after their viability plan was approved by La Liga and President Javier Tebas.
The Blaugrana are well over their salary limit currently, with talk of between €200-250m needed to be raised in funds, or saved in expenses for the coming season in order to sign players without further restrictions.
In any attempt to sign Lionel Messi on a free from Paris Saint-Germain, they needed the approval of their viability plan from La Liga in order to forge ahead. Without it, there would be no guarantee they could register Messi, or the likes of Ronald Araujo, Gavi or Marcos Alonso.
Onze say that Barcelona now have the green light on that plan. It involves a minimum of €100m in player sales in order to make a deal happen, which will be a tough task without selling players that they want to hold onto. It does however bring about the possibility of his return.
If Barcelona can pull off a deal for Lionel Messi, it would send shockwaves through the club. Something which is likely to shake a few loose fittings loose, particularly with the financial effort required. Not least those that will be candidates for a sale in order to raise that €100m required.
It would also be a major sentimental coup for President Joan Laporta, who as it stands will go down as the president who lost Lionel Messi, even if much of the groundwork was laid by Josep Maria Bartomeu.