Just in: Messi, Busquets closer to Saudi Arabia than Barcelona – report | OneFootball

In a huge development, Catalunya Radio is claiming that the futures of Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets are now closer to Saudi Arabia than Barcelona.

Throughout the day, contradicting reports have been doing the rounds with regard to the future of Messi as well as Busquets.

It was reported that Saudi Arabian giants Al Hilal had made contract offers to both Busquets as well as Jordi Alba in order to convince Messi to join them. Some other publications went a step forward and claimed that all three had agreed terms with the Middle Eastern outfit.

But, the entourages of Messi, as well as that of Busquets and Alba reportedly dismissed those claims.

As far as Alba is concerned, his contract still has a year left to run and the 34-year-old is set to become a father again soon, as a result of which he intends to continue at Barcelona.

But, it seems like Messi and Busquets both could be on their way to Saudi Arabia at this moment, with their futures looking distant from Barcelona, if the report from Catalunya Radio is to be believed.

If true, it will certainly come as a blow for Barça, who had been harbouring hopes of re-signing their former captain in order to give him a fitting farewell at the club after his shock exit in 2021.

As for Busquets, the 34-year-old has a contract offer on the table from Barcelona, and manager Xavi has made it clear time and again that he wishes to keep hold of his club captain.

But for quite a while now, it has been reported that Busquets’ future could very well be tied to that of Messi, and as per the latest update, the duo could be bound for Saudi Arabia when they become free agents in the summer.

Given the contradicting nature of reports that have been doing the rounds today, these claims should be taken with a pinch of salt.

However, it needs to be said that Barcelona have a lot of work to do with regard to their Financial Fair Play situation if they are to make the dream of re-signing Messi a reality.