Lionel Messi spent nearly his entire football career at Barcelona, a club where he became one of the greatest players of all time. Despite leaving under painful circumstances in 2021, the Argentine superstar has never hidden his emotional connection to the Catalan giants. Before joining Argentina’s national team camp in Spain last Sunday, Messi made a surprise visit to the Spotify Nou Camp, rekindling hopes among fans of a possible reunion.
In an interview with Spanish media, the Inter Miami forward once again expressed his desire to return to Barcelona — not just for football, but for the memories he shares with his family.
“𝑩𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒂 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒃𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆. 𝑴𝒚 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆,” 𝑴𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘.
Laporta Breaks Silence on Messi’s Possible Return
However, Barcelona president Joan Laporta has poured cold water on those hopes. Speaking to Catalunya Radio, Laporta clarified that Messi’s return to the club as a player is “not realistic.”
“𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒖𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝑴𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒃, 𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒖𝒆𝒍 𝒖𝒏𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏,” 𝑳𝒂𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒎𝒍𝒚.
Messi’s surprise visit to the Nou Camp caught even Laporta off guard. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, accompanied by Rodrigo De Paul, was reportedly allowed entry by security during his unplanned visit — his first time stepping into the stadium since his emotional exit.
Laporta Plans Tribute Match for Messi
Despite ruling out a playing return, Laporta revealed he would like to organize a tribute match for Messi once the renovation of Camp Nou is complete.
“𝑰 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑵𝒐𝒖 𝑪𝒂𝒎𝒑 𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆. 𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒂𝒄𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑩𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒂 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕,” 𝑳𝒂𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅.
During his illustrious two-decade career at Barcelona, Lionel scored 672 goals in 778 matches and lifted 34 trophies, including 10 La Liga titles and 4 Champions League crowns.
After leaving Barcelona in 2021, Messi joined Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and later moved to Inter Miami in 2023, where he’s set to remain under contract until 2028.
He may no longer don the iconic Blaugrana jersey, but his heart — and that of millions of fans — will forever beat for Barcelona.
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