Lionel Messi’s future will be decided next week, as Barcelona coach Xavi also addressed rumors about Bernardo Silva and Joshua Kimmich.
The Argentina forward is all set to leave Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this month but has yet to resolve his future.
He has been offered a €500 million (£435 million or $541 million) salary from Saudi Arabia, but Barcelona are also keen to get him back on a spectacular deal that would require them to rework their financial situation.
Xavi insisted that Messi will always be welcome at the Catalan club, but the final decision rests with the forward.
Barcelona have reportedly requested that he hold on until Monday before making a decision, and the manager revealed on the same lines that the 35-year-old will make a final call sometime next week.
“I have already said many times that he has the doors open here; I am the coach, and I know that he will help us if he decides to come, but in the end, I think we have to leave him a little alone.
“He ends the season there; he has a lot of respect for Paris Saint-Germain; he wants to finish in the best way; his contract ends; and then he has earned all the right in the world to say where to go and where to end his career,” he told Mundo Deportivo.
“I think that he has football to continue at a high level and that if he comes to Barça, what most or all of the Catalans want, especially the coach, the doors are open, and I am convinced that he is going to do well.
“He told me that next week he will make a decision, and we have to leave him alone. In the end, if we talk about Leo every day, I don’t think he adds up either. In the end, he will decide next week, and now there are 200 hypotheses.
“In the end, he will decide his future, and here the doors are open; there is no more debate.”
Barcelona have also been linked with Manchester City’s Silva, as well as Kimmich and Martin Zubimendi.
With Sergio Busquets leaving the club, signing a holding midfielder is a top priority. Xavi admitted that the club will enter negotiations, but getting them will be “very difficult”.
“It would be wonderful, but he is also a City player, which makes it very difficult,” he stated when asked about the possibility of getting Silva.
When further pressed about Kimmich and Zubimendi, he replied: “Here, then, the clubs get angry with me, as the sports director of Real Sociedad got angry with me. In the end, you ask me, and you ask me again.
“We are talking about names that are number one in their position, Zubimendi and Kimmich, who is a top super star and also understands the fantastic game.
“We need a top-level replacement; a footballer who has been a starter all season (Busquets) is leaving, an important, very leader of this Barça that has won the League and Super Cup.
“We need a high-level player in that position; otherwise, it will be difficult for us to compete next year.
“If there is any open door, there would have to be a negotiation with Bayern Munich.”
It seems that the next week will be vital regarding Messi’s future, as Barcelona are likely to make an offer to him. After considering the details, the 2022 World Cup winner might decide on his future.
