Messi will not leave PSG in January amidst Barcelona speculations – report

Earlier today, SPORT came with a sensational report claiming that Barcelona were planning an audacious move to sign Lionel Messi from PSG in the January transfer window itself.

The 35-year-old icon is in the final year of his contract with Les Parisiens and has been heavily linked with a return to Spotify Camp Nou. It was earlier believed that Barça would want to re-sign him on a Bosman move in the summer of 2023.

However, the aforementioned report claimed that the Blaugrana wanted to take advantage of the 1:1 spending rule in January and sign him rather than wait until the summer of 2023 when they would be back with the 1:4 rule.

But, according to journalist Ben Jacobs, there is 'no truth' to Barcelona's move for Messi in the January transfer window.

The journalist claims that there is no way that the Argentina captain will consider leaving PSG mid-season even if he does not plan to sign a new contract with the Ligue 1 champions. It is also claimed that a decision on his future will only be made after the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Barcelona find themselves ready to go back into the market in January for reinforcements after their failings in the UEFA Champions League. A new right-back and a defensive midfielder are said to be the priorities within the club.

So, the Messi rumours for the winter window came as a shock. Considering that he is still contracted to PSG, Barcelona would have to negotiate with the Parisian giants to sign him, which seems an impossible prospect considering the sour relationship between the two clubs as well as the fact that the Ligue 1 giants would not want to lose him.

Furthermore, it would also be unfathomable to see Messi agree to leave the club mid-season knowing that he would have to trade Champions League football for the Europa League should he return to Barcelona at this stage.