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Did the Barcelona-Messi meeting actually happen?

Contradictory reports and a possible smokescreen

Lionel Messi of Barcelona Press Conference Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images

Reports came flooding in from Catalan radio; Lionel Messi’s father slash agent, Jorge Messi, had sat down with the president of FC Barcelona, Joan Laporta.

But did he really?

One of the most well-connected Argentine journalists didn’t seem to think so. Gastón Edul stated that Messi was only negotiating with one club: Paris Saint-Germain. For a while now, the reports in Argentina have said that the most likely thing is that the FIFA World Cup winner will renew his deal and stay in Paris.

PSG are reportedly keen on extending the contract, which expires at the end of this season. Barcelona are also interested in bringing the superstar back to Camp Nou, but will need to find a way to generate enough money for it amid financial problems.

And now we have a reply from Catalan media to those who questioned whether the meeting even took place. They say that the player’s entourage has denied reports that they met with Barcelona because they want to keep the meeting private. After all, he still is a PSG player and there is still a chance that he will stay.

It is said that the player himself likes the move back to La Liga more than his family. He supposedly is in constant contact with Xavi.

Finally, there is Inter Miami. The MLS club wants the superstar, and there has been talk of making him a part owner of the team. But so far they have failed to convince Messi to leave Europe’s top five leagues.

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