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Former Liverpool midfielder Don Hutchison has made a bold claim that Lionel Messi could rejoin Barcelona even if he was offered just £10 a week.
The 34-year-old Blaugrana legend is enduring arguably the worst period of his glittering career at Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), whom he joined last summer.
Messi has been a pale shadow of his usual best and has come in for huge criticism from the French media as well as PSG fans. He has scored just seven times in nearly 30 games across competitions.
There are rumours that the forward could be in line to make a sensational return to the Camp Nou, having been booed by the Parc des Princes faithful only a week ago.
Considering the same, Hutchison believes the Argentina captain would jump at the prospect of returning to Catalonia. He told ESPN:
"I listened to Aubameyang when he signed for Barcelona. and he got asked about Arsenal, I'm paraphrasing, but he more or less said I've taken a massive pay cut to play for Barcelona; it's a once in a lifetime opportunity."
He continued:
"I reckon off the record, if you said to Messi you can go back to Barcelona, and you'll be on 10 quid a week, and you go and play for Barcelona and you've earned millions and millions out the game, but you'll play for the club that you absolutely adore, and the fans adore you, I bet he'd consider it."
Barcelona have fared well despite Lionel Messi's departure
Barcelona are in red-hot form and flourishing under Messi's former teammate Xavi Heranndez. They thrashed their El Clasico rivals Real Madrid 4-0 on Sunday night to extend their unbeaten run to 12 games across competitions.
Xavi's men now sit third in the La Liga table, having languishing in ninth position when the Spaniard took over from Ronald Koeman in November last year. There is now a feeling around Catalonia that the team has had an admirable turnround in fortunes.
Xavi has implemented a captivating 4-3-3 system that is causing havoc for La Liga defences. Messi may feel he wants to be part of Xavi's transformation. However, Loïc Tanzi of RMC Sport has reported that the Argentinian wants to see out his contract with the Parisians.
That hasn't stopped Xavi from potentially opening the door for a Messi return ,as he told reporters (via Forbes):
"The doors will be open, and as long as I'm a coach, it's as if he can come every day (to see training or talk with the coaches) if he wants. As a club, we owe him a great tribute. He has a contract with PSG, and I can't do much more."
Whether Messi returns to the Camp Nou or not remains to be seen, but the prospect is tantalising.
