Reports from France have claimed the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner will extend his stay in Paris.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has admitted re-signing Lionel Messi would be ‘very difficult’ for the club.
While Laporta insists he would welcome Messi back, he doesn’t want to spike any false hope for fans of a potential summer return to Camp Nou for the club’s legendary record goalscorer.
“On the subject of Messi, we can’t generate expectations,” Laporta told BarcaTV.
“Messi is a PSG player and has a contract with them. He has won the World Cup and the Culés have been very happy. What I don’t want to do is generate expectations that at the moment are very difficult.”
‘We would very much love him back one day’
According to French outlet Le Parisien, Messi has agreed to extend his contract with Paris Saint-Germain ‘in principle’ for one more season. His current deal expires at the end of the season.
“For us, he is the best player of all time,” Laporta added.
“We have had him here, and I am convinced that in his heart he is a Culé and will always be linked to Barca. Whether he comes back as a player, at the moment he is at PSG and we would very much love him to come back one day, but we’ll see.”
Barcelona return to action on New Year’s Eve for a home Catalan derby against Espanyol in LaLiga.
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