Barcelona President Joan Laporta met with Lionel Messi’s father and agent Jorge this afternoon, but as per Fabrizio Romano, they have been unable to offer Messi a deal yet.
For several weeks Barcelona have been awaiting approval for their viability plan from La Liga, which will allow them to make signings once more, as they are currently over their salary limit. News that it would be given the green light broke just ahead of midday in Spain, and shortly after Jorge Messi was seen at Laporta’s house.
After leaving that meeting, Jorge Messi told cameras that he was optimistic about a deal with Barcelona for his son, and confirmed Lionel Messi wanted to return to his former club.
However according to Fabrizio Romano, both Barcelona and the Messi camp feel time is running out for a deal to be done. He highlights the fact that there is no offer on the table as of yet, and goes on to say that both parties will try to work out a ‘creative solution’.
Barcelona were not able present official bid to Messi yet during the meeting. 🇦🇷
Both sides feel time is running out… but Laporta and Jorge Messi have decided to take some hours to see if there’s a ‘creative’ solution.
Meanwhile, Leo’s decision process is already advanced. pic.twitter.com/0us5IOa9Sp
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 5, 2023
While this may be the case, it is either the Messi camp or other teams that are imposing such haste on a potential deal. This is understandable to an extent, that Jorge Messi would want to wrap a deal up as quickly as possible. Depending on Messi’s desires and how actively he participates in the process though, that timescale could obviously change.
