20 March 2023 , 11:57
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Barcelona star Sergi Roberto would welcome Lionel Messi back to the Camp Nou “with open arms” after being left furious with the Argentine’s treatment at Paris Saint-Germain.
The Argentine superstar only left the Catalan giants in the summer of 2021 due to the woeful financial crisis at the club. He put pen to paper on a two-year deal with French side PSG - that deal coming to an end this summer.
Messi has been linked with an emotional return to Barcelona, something that would certainly be welcomed by utility man Roberto. Asked how Messi would be received in the aftermath of the Catalans’ most recent Clasico victory, the Spaniard replied: “With open arms, who is not going to be prepared for Messi’s return?
“In the end, we don’t want to talk a lot because he, the president, the coach or whoever has to decide, but if it’s because of the players, we are waiting for him now.”
Roberto - the scorer of Barcelona’s equaliser against Real Madrid on Sunday - continued his assessment of a potential Messi reunion and tore into the Argentine’s treatment at the Parc des Princes. PSG have endured a difficult season despite looking likely to win the Ligue 1 title after early Coupe de France and Champions League exits.
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PSG fans booed Messi’s name ahead of their defeat to Rennes on Sunday - already their fourth league reverse of the season.
Sergi Roberto is eyeing a reunion with Lionel Messi (Getty Images)Should Lionel Messi return to Barcelona? Share your thoughts in the comments below
Roberto added: “You don’t understand that he is having a good season in Paris, scoring many goals, assisting… Because of the [Champions League] elimination they have taken issue with him, but he is a spectacular player and it’s bad that a player of this level is treated in this way. Here we are going to treat him very well if he comes.”
Messi, fresh off the back of winning the World Cup, is in the midst of a sensational season with 18 goals and 17 assists to his name in all competitions. That form followed a tricky debut campaign in the French capital in which he scored just six league goals.
Roberto is not the only man to have suggested that Messi should move back to Barcelona once his PSG contract comes to an end. Club president Joan Laporta has already claimed that the Argentine’s relationship with the Catalan giants is not yet over.
Speaking last summer, he said: "I would hope that the Messi chapter isn't over. I think it's our responsibility to try to ... find a moment to fix that chapter, which is still open and hasn't closed, so it turns out like it should have, and that it has a more beautiful ending."
Reports in France have already suggested that Messi is ‘seriously considering’ a move back to the Camp Nou but he also has other suitors. A switch to MLS has regularly been touted, whilst Saudi clubs have also made their interest known in the past.