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The Argentine World Cup winner had to leave his beloved Barcelona in tears at the end of the 2020-21 season due to the Catalan club's financial issues. (File)
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has said that the club was above everyone and called the possibility of Lionel Messi returning to play for the Catalan giants again “unrealistic”. The 63-year-old’s comments come after the Inter Miami forward visited Nou Camp on Sunday, with the club unaware of his visit.
Messi left Barcelona in 2021 after his contract expired, with the club unable to renew his stay due to financial difficulties, ending his time with an emotionally-charged press conference to join Paris Saint-Germain before moving to the United States in 2023.
“Barca is above every one of us. It did not happen as we would have liked to, but at that moment it went how it went. For me to make speculation that is unrealistic, nor do I think is fair, I believe that is not appropriate,” Laporta told Catalunya Ràdio.
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“I didn’t know he was coming, but Camp Nou is his home. They told me what happened. It was a nice gesture. He had just finished dinner and felt like coming with some friends. It was a spontaneous act in the spirit of Barcelona,” he added.
However, Laporta hoped that he could give Messi a tribute match at Nou Camp after the stadium reopened last Friday, following a 895-day gap due to renovation activities.
“It would be right that he has the best tribute in the world, and it would be wonderful to have it here, in front of 105,000 fans,” he said.
Messi had taken to Instagram on Monday to express a desire to return to Barcelona one day to play at the club, not just to compete in a farewell match.
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“Last night, I returned to a place that I miss with all my heart. A place where I was immensely happy, where you made me feel a thousand times like the happiest person in the world. I hope that one day I can return, and not just to say goodbye as a player, as I never got to do,” he wrote on the social media platform.
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