Rumours about Lionel Messi’s possible return to Barcelona occupy more space than ever in the Catalan sporting press, to the point of overlooking winning the league title.
Barcelona take on Atlético Madrid in La Liga on Sunday, with 13 points separating the two sides. AS report that Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernández wants his players to remain focused on the game with Atlético at Camp Nou, but there has been plenty of Messi talk of late.
According to Catalan daily Sport on Friday, Xavi has already met with several of the senior members of the Barça dressing room to inform them of negotiations taking place for a Messi return.
In London on Friday, Xavier Puig, in charge of the club’s women’s team, told Catalunya Ràdio from London, where he was attending the first leg of the Champions League semi-final between Chelsea and Barça at Stamford Bridge, “I would love Messi to return. Vice-president Yuste said some time ago that talks had begun and we are waiting for news. We are talking about the best player in the world”.
On Thursday, vice-president of marketing at Barcelona, Juli Guiu, said on RAC1 that “Messi’s return in commercial terms would be a guaranteed success in the field of marketing and sponsorship. It would be foolish not to row in this direction even from the league itself, because his return would also benefit Spanish football. It would be a win-win situation for everyone”.
Kieran Quaile | GSFN
