Barca director gives bleak finances update but holds hope of Messi and Pep returns

Cruyff, the son of Barca and footballing legend Johan, joined the Catalan club last year following the return of president Joan Laporta.

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The new presidential reign began with the low of announcing the club was in £1.2billion worth of debt, before financial manoeuvring saw a hectic summer in the transfer market.

The club are now back at the top of LaLiga and were beginning to look revitalised, but a Champions League group stage exit dealt a worrying blow.

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Much of Barcelona's summer spending was predicated on them having deep runs into the lucrative competition, but after back-to-back early exits, their spending for the current season appears to be over.

"Right now we wouldn't be able to sign in the winter market," Cruyff said in an interview with RAC 1.

"It's not a question of just selling one player, it's more complicated than that."

The Spanish giants have undergone huge changes in recent years, shifting through managers, while losing key players such as Luis Suarez and more recently Gerard Pique.

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Bigger than all those departures, though, was that of the club's greatest ever player, Lionel Messi, who bid a teary goodbye in the summer of 2021 as financial restraints stopped him from signing a new deal.

Now at Paris Saint-Germain on a contract that will expire in the summer of 2023, Barca have been linked, despite strong reports he is heading to MLS side Inter Miami.

On Messi, Cruyff said: "There must be an approach.

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"It is clear that we are missing the final hug between a huge club and a player. They both deserve it."

He was also quizzed on a potential return for Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, who left the club after a trophy-laden four-year stint in 2012.

"There are very few coaches who have reached the level of being able to choose their destiny," Cruyff said. "That is the case with him.

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"Should he return to Barca? It will depend on the situation."