21 December 2023 , 13:46
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Barcelona president Joan Laporta has confirmed he and the club are open to the possibility of re-signing Lionel Messi.
Messi left the Camp Nou in the summer of 2021 after 21 years with the La Liga giants. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner signed for the club at the age of 13 to be part of the famed La Masia academy and would go on to become one of the greatest players to ever play the sport.
The 36-year-old signed for Paris Saint-Germain following his Barcelona departure, where he spent the next two years of his career. Messi then decided to leave Europe for the first time since he first joined Barca and move to the United States with Inter Miami.
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During the summer, when Messi first signed with the Major League Soccer club, there were strong rumours that Messi could complete a sensational return to Barcelona instead. A deal was never completed, though, and Messi instead made the move to the DRV PNK Stadium to become one of the biggest stars in MLS.
Messi is comfortably the top goalscorer in Barcelona's illustrious history, with 672 goals in his 778 appearances. Second on the list is Cesar Rodriguez with 226, while potential future Inter Miami teammate Luis Suarez is third with 195 goals.
Even though Messi signed for Miami in the summer, it has not stopped the speculation that he could still return to Barca one day, despite his advancing years. The club's president, Laporta, has admitted that it's possible Messi could wear a Barcelona shirt one day again, and even addressed the idea of a one-game loan from Miami - something he admitted he's not sure is even possible.
"There will be time to talk about it [Messi's return]. There are all kinds of reports, but I don't think that's [one-game loan] even allowed by FIFA," Laporta said in an interview with EFE.
"We are open to doing it when they [Messi and his family] want to do it. Messi is the best player in history and, given how much we respect and admire him, of course he deserves a tribute at Barcelona.
"I don't know if it will be when we return to the Spotify Camp Nou at the end of 2024 or when the stadium is fully built by July 2026."
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Barcelona president Joan Laporta has spoken about the possibility of Lionel Messi's return to the club (David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images)Laporta went on to reveal details of Barcelona's interest in re-signing Messi before he joined Miami. The La Liga club's president said that he understood why Messi decided against returning to the Camp Nou after a two-year absence.
"It was left a bit in limbo. In the end, it didn't happen, because what he told us was totally logical," said Laporta.
"Because of the pressure he had been under in Paris, he preferred to go to Inter Miami, because that would give him a certain stability. It was a decision we respected."
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