Lionel Messi’s Barcelona future cast into doubt

Lionel Messi admits he is unsure of where he'll be playing next season. Picture: AP

Messi said at the awards ceremony for the Fifa Ballon d’Or that he doesn’t know whether he’ll be back at Barcelona next season. He made the comment after being asked whether he’d consider returning to his boyhood club Newell’s Old Boys at some point.

Though a number of clubs would, naturally, be interested in signing Messi, financial constraints imposed either by Fifa’s financial fair play regulations or, more simply, a lack of money, gives the Argentina limited options.

Messi said in Spanish that “I am not sure if I will go back to Newell’s Old Boys one day,” adding that “I am not sure where I will be next year. I have always said I want to end my career at Barcelona but as Cristiano (Ronaldo) said: `Only God knows the future.’ Especially in football where things can change overnight.”

On Sunday, Messi told Barcelona’s in-house TV channel that he had no intention of leaving.

According to the Guardian, Manchester United would be one of the few clubs in world football who could meet Barcelona’s fee of €250m (£195m); Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain would be hampered in their attempts to bid for Messi by Fifa rules.

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