El Nacional claims Barca sold Rafinha and Fati to bring Messi back to Camp Nou
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has hinted that Messi could return to his childhood club after his contract expires at Paris Saint-Germain.
According to El Nacional, in order to re-sign Messi, Barcelona are ready to sell Rafinha and Ansuman Fathi.
Messi's contract with Paris Saint-Germain expires in June, and with the team missing out on the Champions League, the possibility of Messi staying in Paris is slim. Paris Saint-Germain were eliminated in the Champions League round of 16 for the fifth time in seven years. Wednesday lost 3-0 on aggregate to Bayern Munich.
Rumours of Messi's return to Barca
Barca continue to dream of Messi and they believe it is more likely than ever to bring him back. Before Barcelona can bring Messi back to Camp Nou, they must create space in the team.
Rafinia
According to El Nacional, the first person to die for this will be Rafinha, whose performance in his first months in La Liga failed to be convincing. Rafinha was born on December 14, 1996 in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Rafinha debuted with Brazilian club Avaí. On July 13, 2022, FC Barcelona in the Spanish Primera División officially announced that Rafinha will join with a transfer fee of 58 million euros plus 9 million euros floating clause, and the two parties will sign a five-year contract.
Ansu Fathi's liquidated damages amounted to 1 billion euros
Another player who could leave Camp Nou is Fathi. With the young player's departure, the club may be looking to raise a significant amount of money and free up the coveted '10' shirt for Lionel Messi.
Fati graduated from La Masia Academy and was admitted to FC Barcelona's first team in 2019. In 2021, Fati won the Copa del Rey with the team. In September 2020, Fati made his debut for the Spanish national team. In November 2022, Fati played with the Spanish national team in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
On 26 August 2019, in Barcelona's 5–2 win over Real Betis Club, Fati came off the bench in the 78th minute to become the second youngest player in Barça's history to make his first team debut at 16 years and 298 days. In Barcelona's 2–2 draw with Atletic Osasuna on 31 August, the 16-year-old Fati scored his first goal of his Barça career and became Barca's youngest La Liga goalscorer. On 10 December, Barcelona scored his first Champions League goal in a 2–1 victory over Inter Milan FC, becoming the youngest player in Champions League history.
Fati was once regarded by Barça as the future of Camp Nou, worth up to 50 million euros, Barca quoted up to 100 million euros, and Fati's liquidated damages reached a staggering 1 billion euros, and the three giants of the Premier League are targeting Ansufati.
El Nacional reports claim that Messi is jealous of the young player's growing popularity among Barcelona fans. This was one of the main reasons for the breakdown of their relationship, in addition to the fact that Fati replaced his representative with Jorge Mendes.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta hinted at bringing Messi back to Camp Nou
In an interview with Le Monde Sport, the need for an attacking player and a centre-back was emphasised, but he admitted the club would have to move some players to close a deal.
"Barca will definitely sign a winger and a centre-back, as long as there are some good chances in the circumstances," Laporta told Le Monde.
'The striker will definitely come, but someone has to come out.'
Laporta's comments came shortly after Laporta was revealed to meet Lionel Messi's father.
"Yes, I've met Jorge Messi," Laporta said.
"We talked about the World Cup and a match that paid tribute to Leo. He's at Paris Saint-Germain right now, so I don't want to talk about whether he can come back. ”
In a meeting with Messi, the Barcelona president said: "I have to make a decision. The club is above all else. We didn't have a very good level playing field at the time, and I still feel bad about that. I had to make a choice, I chose the club. In Paris, we met. ”