Where will Lionel Messi fit if he re-joins Barcelona?

The Argentine superstar is on his way out at PSG

According to rumours, Lionel Messi, 35, has had a difficult time at PSG and looks to be on the brink of leaving the club. He has no intention of continuing his football in Paris.

Lionel Messi is more than welcome to return to Barcelona, the team where he spent his formative years, and the club is making every effort to sign the World Cup champion to a contract.

It is also known that the 35-year-old is eager to take a reduced income in order to comply with their budgetary restrictions.

Barcelona are rumoured to have a thorough strategy planned to sign the Argentine this summer that involves some player pay reductions, player exits, and additional sources of cash.

But where will Messi fit in Xavi's system?

Messi's natural position in Xavi's formation is on the conservative right. The Barcelona players who presently occupy that slot, Ousmane Dembele and Raphinha, aren't exactly untouchable, and he has played there for a significant portion of his career.

With Messi and Gavi out wide, Xavi would be without a winger who can remain wide, defeat their man, and put in a cross. Nevertheless, since taking over, Xavi has often always had at minimum one wide winger in his starting lineup.

With how effectively Pedri and Frenkie de Jong are performing as the team's central midfielders, he might shift Gavi into midfield and place Dembele on the left, but he could be hesitant to do so. Alternatively, he can consider adjusting his strategy to enable him to utilise all of his finest players in the most appropriate situations.

In recent years, Messi has mostly played in a free role behind a striker; if his old teammate shifted to a 4-2-3-1 so that he could play as a number 10 at Barça as well, it would make for an impressive front four.

Nevertheless, Pedri and Frenkie de Jong in a tandem pivot with Messi in front of them wouldn't provide much defence protection, thus this is most likely a strategy that would only be employed against inferior opposition.

While he's since settled on a 4-3-3, Xavi did occasionally deploy a back three during his first season in charge of Barcelona and might have done so again if he decided to forge one of the most dreadful striking pairings in the history of the game.

Messi and Robert Lewandowski seem like a fantastic match on paper. The Polish striker could drop deep in from behind and inside the area, and it could be incredibly devastating, while the Argentine floated around as a false nine searching for the ball.

Three central defenders would lessen the need for a midfield three of Pedri, Gavi, and De Jong to defend their backline in this configuration.