Vice-president hints at move
Barcelona’s vice president has suggested that a return to the club for Lionel Messi next season would now be “viable” because the Catalan side’s finances are now in order. The Argentina international left the club last year on a free transfer to join Paris Saint-Germain, when the La Liga giants were unable to offer him a new contract. At the time, Messi signed a two-year deal, meaning his time in Ligue 1 could come to an end next summer.
“If he’d come back, it would be on a free transfer, so it could be feasible in my area,” said economic vice president Eduard Romeu in an interview with Cataluyna Radio. “He’s a club icon, a legend, and Barcelona will always be his home. But his return would be a technical decision.” However, Romeu did stress that Barcelona’s finances are not yet back to their previous levels just yet.
“We have saved the club for now, but it’s not done yet,” Romeu added. “The patient is still not completely healthy. It’s time to be austere, rigorous and work hard. When is the club going to be healthy again? During the five years we’ll spend here, surely. In the 24-25 season we expect to be at the level Barcelona must be.” Romeu confirmed that the club have reduced its wage bill by €150 million, pointing out that a number of older, well-paid players have been moved on in recent transfer windows.
From Bellingham to Messi: The 100 most valuable footballers in the world
Bellingham misses out on top three, Musiala joins top 10
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Following the market value updates in Europe’s major leagues, the ranking of the world’s 100 most valuable footballers has been updated.
(As of 27 September 2022)
100 Lionel Messi – PSG – Market value: €50m
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99 Casemiro – Man United – Market value: €50
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98 Alisson – Liverpool – Market value: €50m
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97 Marco Verratti – PSG – Market value: €50m
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96 Kalvin Phillips – Man City – Market value: €50m
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95 Patrik Schick – Leverkusen – Market value: €50m
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94 Lucas Hernández – Bayern Munich – Market value: €50m
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93 Mikel Merino – Real Sociedad – Market value: €50m
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92 James Maddison – Leicester City – Market value: €50m
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91 Raphinha – Barcelona – Market value: €50m
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90 Wilfred Ndidi – Leicester City – Market value: €50m
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89 Pau Torres – Villarreal – Market value: €50m
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88 Arnaut Danjuma – Villarreal – Market value: €50m
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87 Richarlison – Tottenham – Market value: €50m
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86 Ousmane Dembélé – Barcelona – Market value: €50m
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85 Tammy Abraham – Roma – Market value: €50m
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84 Fikayo Tomori – AC Milan – Market value: €50m
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83 Martin Ødegaard – Arsenal – Market value: €50m
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82 Alexander Isak – Newcastle United – Market value: €50m
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81 Gianluigi Donnarumma – PSG – Market value: €50m
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80 Dejan Kulusevski – Tottenham – Market value: €50m
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79 Sandro Tonali – AC Milan – Market value: €50m
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78 Nuno Mendes – PSG – Market value: €50m
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77 Virgil van Dijk – Liverpool – Market value: €55m
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76 David Alaba – Real Madrid – Market value: €55m
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75 Theo Hernández – AC Milan – Market value: €55m
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74 Cristian Romero – Tottenham – Market value: €55m
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73 Marc Cucurella – Chelsea – Market value: €55m
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72 Eduardo Camavinga – Real Madrid – Market value: €55m
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71 Sadio Mané – Bayern Munich – Market value: €60m
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70 Thibaut Courtois – Real Madrid – Market value: €60m
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69 Fabinho – Liverpool – Market value: €60m
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68 Sergej Milinković-Savić – Lazio – Market value: €60m
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67 Leroy Sané – Bayern Munich – Market value: €60m
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66 Kingsley Coman – Bayern Munich – Market value: €60m
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65 Diogo Jota – Liverpool – Market value: €60m
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64 Mikel Oyarzabal – Real Sociedad – Market value: €60m
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63 Frenkie de Jong – Barcelona – Market value: €60m
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62 Marcus Rashford – Man United – Market value: €60m
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61 Éder Militão – Real Madrid – Market value: €60m
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60 Jules Koundé – Barcelona – Market value: €60m
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59 Ronald Araújo – Barcelona – Market value: €60m
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58 Alessandro Bastoni – Inter – Market value: €60m
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57 Moussa Diaby – Leverkusen – Market value: €60m
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56 Reece James – Chelsea – Market value: €60m
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55 Josko Gvardiol – RB Leipzig – Market value: €60m
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54 Ansu Fati – Barcelona – Market value: €60m
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53 Andrew Robertson – Liverpool – Market value: €65m
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52 João Cancelo – Man City – Market value: €65m
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51 Leon Goretzka – Bayern Munich – Market value: €65m
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50 Milan Skriniar – Inter Milan – Market value: €65m
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49 Serge Gnabry – Bayern Munich – Market value: €65m
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48 Gabriel Jesus – Arsenal – Market value: €65m
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47 Federico Chiesa – Juventus – Market value: €65m
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46 Achraf Hakimi – PSG – Market value: €65m
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45 Victor Osimhen – Napoli – Market value: €65m
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44 Wesley Fofana – Chelsea – Market value: €65m
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43 Romelu Lukaku – Inter Milan – Market value: €70m
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42 Marquinhos – PSG – Market value: €70m
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41 Raheem Sterling – Chelsea – Market value: €70m
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40 Jack Grealish – Man City – Market value: €70m
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39 Nicolò Barella – Inter Milan – Market value: €70m
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38 Rafael Leão – AC Milan – Market value: €70m
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37 Kai Havertz – Chelsea – Market value: €70m
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36 Darwin Núñez – Liverpool – Market value: €70m
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35 Matthijs de Ligt – Bayern Munich – Market value: €70m
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34 João Félix – Atlético Madrid – Market value: €70m
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33 Alphonso Davies – Bayern Munich– Market value: €70m
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32 Rodrygo – Real Madrid – Market value: €70m
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31 Bukayo Saka – Arsenal – Market value: €70m
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30 Florian Wirtz – Leverkusen – Market value: €70m
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29 Gavi – Barcelona – Market value: €70m
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28 Neymar – PSG – Market value: €75m
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27 Heung-Min Son – Tottenham – Market value: €75m
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26 Luis Díaz – Liverpool – Market value: €75m
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25 Rúben Dias – Man City – Market value: €75m
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24 Lautaro Martínez – Inter Milan – Market value: €75m
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23 Mason Mount – Chelsea – Market value: €75m
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22 Antony – Man United – Market value: €75m
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21 Jadon Sancho – Man United – Market value: €75m
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20 Bernardo Silva – Man City – Market value: €80m
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19 Joshua Kimmich – Bayern Munich – Market value: €80m
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18 Rodri – Man City – Market value: €80m
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17 Christopher Nkunku – RB Leipzig – Market value: €80m
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16 Federico Valverde – Real Madrid – Market value: €80m
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15 Trent Alexander-Arnold – Liverpool – Market value: €80m
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14 Declan Rice – West Ham – Market value: €80m
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13 Aurélien Tchouameni – Real Madrid – Market value: €80m
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12 Jamal Musiala – Bayern Munich – Market value: €80m
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11 Kevin De Bruyne – Man City – Market value: €85m
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10 Bruno Fernandes – Man United – Market value: €85m
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9 Dušan Vlahović – Juventus – Market value: €85m
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8 Mohamed Salah – Liverpool – Market value: €90m
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7 Harry Kane – Tottenham – Market value: €90m
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6 Phil Foden – Man City – Market value: €90m
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5 Pedri – Barcelona – Market value: €90m
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4 Jude Bellingham – Dortmund – Market value: €90m
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3 Vinicius Junior – Real Madrid – Market value: €120m
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2 Erling Haaland – Man City – Market value: €150m
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1 Kylian Mbappé – PSG – Market value: €160m
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In the summer window alone, the Spanish giants were able to sell Philippe Coutinho and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, while Miralem Pjanic, Martin Braithwaite, Dani Alves and others all left on free transfers. Similarly, the club were able to loan out Sergiño Dest, Clément Lenglet and Samuel Umtiti to other clubs, further reducing their wage bill. “There has been a lot of movement and changes on contracts and deferred salaries,” said Romeu. “In a couple of seasons, we expect to have a reasonable wage bill in the club.”
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