Barcelona Reportedly Considering Mohamed Salah As Lionel Messi's Possible Successor

Barcelona are reportedly considering Liverpool star Mohamed Salah as a possible successor to Lionel Messi.

The Catalan club is now dealing with a setback that could be a major problem in the future. Prior to the return of LaLiga, Barcelona confirmed that Messi has incurred a thigh injury.

Initial speculations regarding Messi’s injury first surfaced when it was reported that he was notably absent from training sessions in Catalunya. The assumption was that the Argentine was merely working away from the cameras in individual gym sessions. However, Barcelona’s official website later confirmed that “Messi has a minor right quadriceps injury and trained in isolation, doing specific exercises to avoid unnecessary risks.”

Following the injury, Don Balon (via Everything Barca) reported that it has become apparent that Barca is now looking for a possible successor in case the six-time Ballon d’Or winner starts to deteriorate. The report revealed that Barcelona is now considering Liverpool goal scorer Salah as a candidate and that he has been added to its transfer shortlist.

Though Salah still has a long way to go before he can rival what Messi has accomplished in his glorified career, the Egyptian striker still presents a strong case to become a future Barcelona star. So far, Salah has won the Golden Boot in each of his two seasons with Liverpool in the Premier League. He has developed into an incredible goal scorer under Jurgen Klopp and has been regarded as one of the best soccer players in the world today.

Aside from Salah, recent reports claimed that former Barcelona star Neymar and Inter Milan ace Lautaro Martinez are also capable of replacing Messi when the time comes. However, Barcelona has yet to close a deal for either Neymar and Martinez at this point.

Meanwhile, it has been said that Barcelona already has the player who can follow the footsteps of Messi. Ansu Fati has been touted as the next Messi, and even the Barca captain himself vowed to help the youngster become a well-rounded player.

Previous reports claimed that Barcelona is not considering loaning Fati for the time being as he could be poised to become their future Messi.

While still a second team player under contract, taking Fati out of Barcelona at the moment would cost about €170 million ($184 million). This amount became his price tag even before he completes his final installation in the first team. Once he becomes a part of the first team, Fati’s worth is expected to balloon to €400 million ($433 million). Pundits speculate that when that happens, nobody could take him out of Barcelona.