Lionel Messi revealed that he and his family plan on returning to live in Barcelona at some point in the near future.
The Argentine icon first moved to the Catalan capital when he was a teenager, belatedly convincing Barcelona to pay for the growth hormone treatment which his boyhood club, Newell’s Old Boys, couldn’t afford. That relationship which began with a contract hurriedly scrawled on a napkin in a tennis club would last for 21 years, bring 778 appearances, 672 goals and 34 trophies. But it all ended in tears.
Barcelona’s desperate financial situation—which was a consequence of mismanagement punished by the COVID pandemic—prevented the club from handing Messi a new contract in 2021. For the first time since he was 13, Messi would have to find a new club.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner didn’t need to send around footage of himself juggling different household objects on this occasion—although it would have been interesting to see if he still possessed the deftness of touch which allowed him to perform 113 keepie-uppies with an orange two decades later—he was not short of offers.
Paris Saint-Germain would whisk Messi away to the French capital for two years before he joined Inter Miami in 2023. The 38-year-old has committed his future to the Herons, penning an extension until 2028 just last month, but has his heart set on a return to Barcelona in the future.
“I’m really looking forward to going back there,” Messi told this week. “We miss Barcelona a lot. My wife and I, the kids, are always talking about Barcelona, about the idea of living there again. We have our house there, everything, so that’s what we want.”
Messi was recently pictured at the renovated Camp Nou, captioning an explosive social media post: “I hope I can return someday, and not just to say goodbye as a player, like I never got to…”
This secret trip has sparked all sorts of speculation but it seems as though Messi’s playing days at Barcelona are over. However, there is still the possibility that he returns to the club in a different capacity—perhaps as a sporting director—once he hangs up his boots in Florida. He will, after all, be living in the city.
