PSG, Messi contract talks continue as father rules out Barcelona return

Posted Saturday, February 18, 2023 by ESPN

Lionel Messi's father and agent, Jorge Messi, has said it's unlikely that his son will play for Barcelona again.

The Argentina captain joined Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2021 after his contract with Barca was not extended because of financial problems.

Messi, 35, is in talks to sign a contract extension with PSG, with his current deal set to end in June.

Jorge Messi was in Paris on Tuesday for the Champions League clash with Bayern Munich and met PSG's sporting director, Luis Campos, on Wednesday to discuss the new contract.

The new deal could be a straight one-year extension or one year with an option for a further 12 months, sources told ESPN.

Messi has agreed in principle to stay at the Parc des Princes but sources added that PSG have yet to make an acceptable offer.

The two parties remain confident that a deal will be agreed sooner rather than later, with another meeting, via phone, set to take place next month, sources added.

Both PSG and Messi's camp accept that negotiations are part of a process with neither having expected an agreement during their initial meeting.

Inter Miami and Barcelona are both keen on signing the World Cup winner, sources said.

"I don't think he will return [to Barcelona]," Jorge Messi told reporters at Barcelona's airport. "The conditions are not there."

He also denied he had spoken to Barcelona president Joan Laporta about his son's future, but did not completely close the door to a return to Camp Nou.

"I don't know, life takes so many turns," he said.