Barcelona want Messi to wait a little longer, signing could take a few weeks – report | OneFootball

After finally being handed the green light by La Liga over the viability plan, Barcelona are advancing in the pursuit of Lionel Messi, their number one priority for the summer transfer window. The drawn-out saga appears to be in its final stages.

Despite strong attempts by Al Hilal to lure Leo into the Saudi Arabian league, Joan Laporta and Jorge Messi’s meeting following the green light indicated a desire to find common ground.

As of now, no solidified offer has been presented to the Messi camp, which stems from the fact that player exits must first take place before the Argentine can receive his long-awaited written proposal.

However, Messi remains as eager as ever to join the Catalan club, and finally has the league’s assurance that the viability plan is actually feasible. Unlike previously where incertitude was present on Barcelona’s side, more clarity can be seen in their finances.

According to Toni Juanmarti, Barça believes that if Messi waits a little longer, they will be able to seal his signing in the coming weeks, but not days.

At the same time though, the report states that if Leo puts pen to paper the odds of Gundogan’s arrival would lower, but the operation would not be entirely discarded.

Knowing exit operations have to take place before Messi can be appointed, a few weeks would be the bare minimum before the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner is handed a written offer.

Previously it was reported that the Argentine would not be willing to wait that long, yet La Liga’s green light is likely going to provide the Messi clan assurances of an inevitable offer.

Looking at Gundogan’s case, the German has been recently swayed by Manchester City to renew and continue carrying on his legacy at the Etihad. Furthermore, Barcelona’s finances are arguably the reason behind any potential abandonment of Gundogan’s signing.

Considering Messi will have a relatively big impact on the wage bill and other areas such as the defensive midfielder position require urgent attention, Gundogan may not be as much of a priority.

The World Cup winner with Argentina is also likely to play as the fourth midfielder in Xavi’s box midfield setup, which coincides with Gundogan’s role. With the arrival of Leo, the board may consider Gundogan a luxury as the midfield may needlessly be stacked.

A lot rides on how Barcelona fare in their attempts to execute exit operations. If enough departures are secured, the Catalans may stand a chance of obtaining Gundogan as well.