"I wish he had come, but what can we do?" - Javier Tebas admits he wanted Barcelona to sign Lionel Messi

La Liga president Javier Tebas has admitted that he wanted to see Lionel Messi return to Barcelona. However, he still backs the club to bring in big players this summer as they did with Robert Lewandowski last summer.

Barcelona were pushing to sign Messi but needed more time to get their financial situation sorted. Marca claimed that they wanted the Argentine to wait until August to find out if he could rejoin the club or not.

Speaking to the media on Friday, Tebas admitted that he wanted Messi back in La Liga, but Barcelona were not in a favorable position to get the deal over the line. He was quoted by Barca Blaugrana as saying:

“As a fan and as president of La Liga, I would have liked to have Messi in our league. Things are what they are and circumstances come as they come. I’m sure Barcelona will bring a great player, apart from the ones they have. They brought Lewandowski, who we have already seen the level he has given. I wish he had come, but what can we do?”

Lionel Messi has signed for Inter Miami after rejecting a world-record €500 million per season offer from Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal.

Barcelona had their plan approved to get Lionel Messi back

Javier Tebas has confirmed that Barcelona had a viability plan approved by La Liga to bring Messi back to the club but it didn't work out in the end. He believes that the club are doing well to get in line with their wage rules and can be in better shape soon. Tebas added:

“The viability plan was approved. That does not mean that they are in the normal 1x1 situation, they are still in the rule of 40%. As it was approved to control two seasons, it means that Barcelona has to make efforts, and they are making them, to reduce their wage bill.

"Today I read that they have informed Mirotic of his termination and that is a very important effort. Barça’s entire wage bill is taken into account, including the basketball section. They are making an important effort and we will see if they continue along these lines.”

Despite the approval of the viability plan, Barcelona couldn't sign Lionel Messi. But they are now in a situation to register the new contracts of Ronald Araujo and Gavi. They are also working on signing Victor Roque and Ilkay Gundogan to bolster their squad.