TIC Tac. The hands, those elongated and pointed pieces that mark the passage of time, are advancing. Pending them is Xavi Hernández. Expectant. Excited with the possible return of Leo Messi. The ball is in the Argentine's court. "I would love for him to return to Barça. He knows it because we have spoken. The ideal scenario would be to have him and a defensive pivot”, confessed the coach.
However, although Messi is aware of Barcelona's plan, he still does not have a formal offer. “I have only talked about football with him. That it could help us a lot. The formal offers are a matter for the president and Mateu Alemany”, stressed the coach. They also know that the Argentine will not take long to pronounce on his future. In fact, they expect the verdict from him next week.
To present a formal and definitive offer to the Argentine, Barcelona is still waiting for LaLiga's approval of the feasibility plan presented at the end of April. Precisely on Thursday, President Joan Laporta received the president of the employers' association, Javier Tebas, at his house to eat and discuss the matter. The entity hopes to have the green light at the beginning of the week. “We are optimistic with having the OK to the feasibility plan. And from there we will start planning. The president always transmits security and confidence to me, ”said Xavi, who contemplates up to three scenarios in his head.
The ideal contemplates Messi and a pivot like Zubimendi. The second version has profiles like Kimmich's. Xavi would also like to sign up a right back. “The sports management knows the names that interest me. But at the moment everything is hypothesis ”, insisted Xavi, who knows that if LaLiga finally does not approve the feasibility plan, the squad would stay as it is now. Without changes. And therefore, without casualties.
For this reason, he has not yet been able to speak with the footballers he does not have. “The situation does not allow me to act. If we can't sign, I don't have to talk to anyone, ”he insisted. If the placet from LaLiga arrives at the beginning of the week, the intention is to be able to start communicating the casualties at the end of next week when the team returns from Japan after playing the friendly match against Iniesta's Vissel Kobe in Tokyo on Tuesday. Ansu Fati is undoubtedly one of the names that is on the exit ramp.
Barça with Fati but without Alba, Busquets, Araújo, Pedri and Balde, will fly to Japan from Santiago de Compostela after playing today the last game of the season in Vigo against a Celta that they are forced to win to certify their permanence without depending on other results .
Barça, League champion, has instead two incentives. The first is that Ter Stegen, with 26 goals without conceding, surpasses the record for clean sheets in a league season that Paco Liaño achieved with Deportivo de La Coruña in the 1993-94 academic year. "He will start in Vigo", advanced Xavi.
For his part, Robert Lewandowski, with 23 goals, maintains a five-target advantage over Benzema, his most immediate pursuer for the top scorer in the League. "He has had a marvelous season, and not only because of the goals," said Xavi. A coach who, among so much uncertainty, is convinced that Barça will play in the Champions League next year and that he will renew as coach. “There will be no problems. Hopefully I can renew for many years. Barça is my home and I feel very happy, ”he declared.
