If there was any curiosity about how Lionel Messi feels about Barcelona after his dramatic exit back in 2021, the World Cup-winning superstar has cleared it up.
“Last night, I returned to a place that I miss with all my heart,” he posted on Instagram on Monday with images of him standing on the pitch of the Camp Nou.
“I hope that one day I can return, and not just to say goodbye as a player, as I never got to do…”
Messi was back in Spain ahead of joining up with the Argentina national team in Alicante ahead of Friday’s friendly against Angola. It was a surprise to see Messi back on the pitch where he spent 17 trophy-laden seasons considering he had just helped Inter Miami advance in the MLS Cup playoffs on Saturday.
In his illustrious tenure at Barça, Messi scored 672 goals in 778 appearances, winning 34 trophies, including 10 LaLiga titles and four Champions League titles. But in 2021, he left for PSG amid financial struggles at Barça – a hasty move that felt abrupt and seemingly no one on either side wanted.
On Tuesday, Messi reiterated his fondness for Barcelona in an interview.
“We miss Barcelona a lot,” Messi told Spanish outlet Diario Sport. “With the kids, continuously, and my wife, we speak about things in Barcelona. The idea is to return there to live. We have our house there, everything, so that’s what we want.”
After two seasons at PSG, Messi then made the move to MLS and joined Inter Miami. In two seasons in Miami, Messi has won two trophies (the Leagues Cup and the Supporters Shield) and has the team eyeing its first ever MLS Cup.
“It’s a strange feeling after leaving, because of how it all happened, because I spent my final seasons there playing without fans due to the pandemic,” he said. “After spending all my life there, I didn’t leave as I had dreamed of.”
Barcelona has been playing at the city’s Olympic Stadium as Camp Nou undergoes a nearly $2 billion renovation, with the stadium set to open in 2026 and having a capacity at nearly 105,000 spectators. Similarly, Inter Miami will open a $1 billion stadium next year that will seat 25,000 fans.
“I imagined myself spending my whole career in Europe in Barcelona and then coming here [to Miami], as I did, because that was my plan. It was what I wanted,” Messi said. “So, my goodbye was a little strange, because of the situation.”
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