Can Barcelona really afford to sign Lionel Messi this summer? Complete breakdown of financial stranglehold on La Liga giants explained

Barcelona are keen on bringing Lionel Messi back to Camp Nou this summer but have a lot of financial obstacles. The PSG star is open to a return, and the Catalan side have confirmed that talks are taking place behind the scenes.

However, GOAL claim that Barcelona need to raise €200 million before they can make any moves in the market. The Blaugrana are over the limit set by La Liga, and that has been the main reason for the league to reject Gavi's new contract.

The club were in talks with La Liga to convince them of their feasibility measures, but they were rejected on Monday. The news came as a significant blow to Barcelona as they were hoping for some wriggle room ahead of the summer window.

Javier Tebas, the president of La Liga, has been adamant about not making any excuses for clubs in Spain as he wants them to operate in a proper manner. Barcelona have been at war with the league as they believe the rules are too strict and they need help to keep fighting the top clubs in Europe.

GOAL add that Barcelona could not activate any more levers this summer as they maxed out their 5% allowance last summer. They are set to discontinue BarcaTV, which is reportedly set to save them a few million euros, but it is unknown if it would help with the La Liga rules.

As things stand, it looks highly unlikely that Lionel Messi will be back at Barcelona.

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Lionel Messi is ready to accept a wage-cut to rejoin from PSG

Barcelona journalist Gerard Romero has claimed that Lionel Messi is ready to accept a massive wage cut to rejoin Barcelona. He was delighted to see the fans chanting his name and is keen on a return.

The journalist said on his Twitch channel:

"Leo Messi is ready to take a pay cut and adapt to a salary in accordance with Barça's situation. Laporta must have a face to face talk with him. Leo saw the fans at the Spotify Camp Nou chant his name last Sunday. People from the club who were not in favour of Messi's return have understood that it would be a great financial boost."

Messi's contract at PSG expires in the summer and he is set to become a free agent.