"Forcing situations too much can be counterproductive" - Gerard Pique fires Lionel Messi transfer warning at Barcelona
Former Barcelona centre-back Gerard Pique has cautioned the Blaugrana outfit over their efforts to sign Lionel Messi from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) this summer.
The Argentine superstar's contract at the Parc des Princes expires at the end of the season. Barca, as a result, have been heavily linked with a move for the 35-year-old nearly two years after he left the club in tears for the French capital.
Barcelona's vice-president Rafa Yuste recently confirmed that the club are in talks with Messi over a potential return. Pique, who shared the pitch 506 times with Messi as a teammate, has asked Barca fans to take Yuste's words with a pinch of salt.
The 36-year-old said, via Mundo Deportivo (h/t Football-Espana):
"I know Rafa Yuste and how he is. He’s a very good person and he will always tell you what you want to hear. He’s a great person, and he is going to choose the right words to say what you like to hear.
He added:
"Obviously for all the ‘cules’ it would be incredible if Leo came back, but there comes a point where forcing situations too much can be counterproductive."
Barcelona's financial troubles are well documented, and no one has been more invested in reminding the football world of it than La Liga president Javier Tebas. He recently claimed that neither the Catalan giants nor PSG earn enough to sign Lionel Messi on a contract for next season.
While Pique's aforementioned comments are open to interpretation, he could be referring to Barcelona's financial standing. Tebas has already told the Catalan giants that they need to trim their wage bill by €400-€600 million to be able to make new signings or register new contracts.
PSG willing to hand Barcelona target Lionel Messi a blank cheque
According to Mundo Deportivo, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) are willing to hand Lionel Messi a blank cheque to stop him from leaving the club this summer.
Keeping the 2022 FIFA World Cup winner in Paris could be as important for PSG commercially as it would be for sporting reasons. To ensure this, they are open to offering him whatever salary he desires and an extension of more than 12 months.
Messi's current deal contains an option where PSG could extend his stay by a year but they are willing to extend it even further. He hasn't helped the club reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals in consecutive seasons.
However, the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner has been exceptional domestically, registering 13 goals and as many assists in 23 Ligue 1 games this term. His team are on course to defend their league title as they lead the table by six points after 28 matches with a game in hand.