The Paris Saint-Germain star will see his contract in France expire at the end of the season and it is becoming increasingly clear that he might not renew.
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It means that Messi could be on the move for nothing in the summer and Barcelona are in contention to snap him up.
And the Culers have made their feelings clear on a possible reunion at the Camp Nou against Real Madrid on Wednesday night as Karim Benzema tore them apart.
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In the second leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final, Barcelona fans could be heard chanting Messi's name around the 99,000-seat stadium.
Barca were leading Real 1-0 on aggregate going into the second leg after Eder Militao's own goal in the first leg last month.
But Vinicius Jr levelled the aggregate score with a strike just before half-time.
However, Benzema stunned the Barca faithful into silence with an incredible hat-trick to make it a 4-0 drubbing and smash them out of the Copa del Rey.
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His three goals also saw him become the third-highest El Clasico scorer for Los Blancos, behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Alfredo Di Stefano.
As for Messi, whether he ends up at Barcelona next season remains to be seen with his future far from assured.
After the World Cup that Argentina won, the 35-year-old's father Jorge seemed to indicate that his son would stay at the Parc des Princes.
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However, an early exit from the Champions League at the hands of Bayern Munich has appeared to change his mind, as well as the ongoing politics at PSG.
According to L'Equipe, Messi is ready to walk out of the French giants this summer with negotiations moving away from an agreement.
A return to Barcelona would be quite the romantic reunion after his departure two years ago.
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The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner joined the club in 2000 and spent 21 years there before financial troubles saw his contract unable to be renewed.
There are also reported offers from David Beckham's Inter Miami as well as Saudi Arabia side Al Hilal.
Should he join the latter, it would set up epic Middle East clashes against Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr.