Could Lionel Messi reject Saudi Arabia, MLS for Barcelona return?

It appears Paris Saint-Germain international superstar Lionel Messi could make a dramatic return to Barcelona, but only if he's willing to sacrifice a small fortune.

Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol said Thursday that signing with Barcelona as a free agent this summer "would be the dream" for Messi. Messi and Paris Saint-Germain are set to part ways once his contract expires after this season. 

"His family is still there, he was there for 17 years, he scored 762 goals and won six Ballon d'Ors," Solhekol explained. "He is Mr. Barcelona. It'll be an incredible story if he was to go back there. It would be a fairytale return."

Solhekol pointed out, however, that the financial issues which caused Messi to leave Barcelona in the summer of 2021 still hover over the club today. Additionally, the 35-year-old could reportedly earn roughly $400M annually via a package produced by the Saudi Arabian government. Messi has also been coveted by Major League Soccer and Inter Miami for years. 

"It might be a case of Messi showing how much he wants to go back to Barcelona and the way to do that is to accept much, much less than he would get paid for playing in Saudi Arabia," Solhekol added. "It's a question of what's more important to him at this moment in time: Being back at home with his family at his club, Barcelona, or does he want to go to Saudi Arabia?" 

As for why the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner would return to Barcelona rather than head to the United States, Solhekol noted that "the message coming out of Messi's camp is that he feels that he still has more time at the top level in Europe and he wants to carry on playing in Europe if possible for at least another season for a Champions League club." 

Spanish football expert Guillem Balague and also Miguel Delaney of The Independent reported in early April that Messi wants to remain in Europe through the 2023-24 campaign leading up to the Copa America.

"But I think that he feels that it's still too early in his career to go to MLS," Solhekol continued. "I think that's one for the future." 

Messi may have to give Barcelona the largest "hometown discount" in the history of professional sports if he wants to call time on his European career with the Catalan club. It does, however, seem less likely with each day he'll be joining MLS before 2024 at the earliest.