Barcelona hope to lure Lionel Messi back by signing his friend in the summer - Reports

Barcelona are interested in signing Argentina international Angel Di Maria to convince Lionel Messi to return to the club, according to Catalonian daily SPORT (via El Nacional).

Messi's future with Paris Saint-Germain is in doubt as his contract expires at the end of the season. According to Fabrizio Romano, he is certain to leave the French giants as a free agent.

The Argentinian icon has received an offer worth over €400 million a year from Saudi Pro League giants Al-Hilal. However, the forward reportedly prefers to continue playing in Europe.

Barcelona are the only club that are interested in signing Messi in Europe as things stand. The Blaugrana are keen to bring the superstar back to Catalonia after reluctantly letting him go in 2021.

However, the Spanish champions need to resolve their financial issues to be able to sign the PSG talisman. Xavi's side hope that La Liga will accept the financial viability plan that they have submitted.

Meanwhile, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba have confirmed that they will leave the Camp Nou at the end of the season. As the Spanish duo are close friends with Messi, fans are concerned if this means the Argentinian will not return.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta, though, has come up with a plan to lure the 35-year-old back. According to the aforementioned source, the Blaugrana are interested in signing Di Maria to convince Messi to rejoin the club.

Di Maria is tipped to leave Juventus when his contract with them runs out on June 30. The La Liga giants have thus set their sights on signing the Argentina international on a free transfer.

Apart from being available for free, Di Maria is close friends with Messi. The two are teammates in the Argentina national team and played together at PSG last season.

They have played 134 games across competitions together, combining to score 15 goals. Both were on the scoresheet when La Albiceleste beat France 4-2 in penalties in the 2022 FIFA World Cup after the game ended 3-3.

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How did Barcelona legend Lionel Messi fare in his last game for PSG?

Lionel Messi has bagged 21 goals and 20 assists in 40 appearances across competitions for PSG this season. He helped the Parisians clinch the Ligue 1 title after scoring in their 1-1 draw against Strasbourg on Saturday (May 27).

The Argentinian icon had 86 touches and completed 62 passes with 91% accuracy. The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner also played three key passes and created two big chances.

Lionel Messi won four of the eight duels he competed in and made two tackles. However, the former Barcelona talisman lost possession 12 times, with only Kylian Mbappe faring worse, and was dribbled past once.

Meanwhile, Lionel Messi's goal against Strasbourg saw him become the highest goalscorer in Europe's top five leagues, netting 496 times. The record was previously held by his arch-nemesis Cristiano Ronaldo (495).