Barcelona president Joan Laporta has addressed the rumours linking Lionel Messi to a January return.
Inter Miami have missed out on the MLS playoffs, so Lionel Messi is set for a lengthy spell without domestic league football. This has given rise to rumours that the World Cup winner could return to Europe, and Barcelona in particular, on loan in January.
While these reports always seemed far-fetched, such a move would not have been without precedent given that both Thierry Henry and David Beckham had loan stints in Europe during their time in MLS. Messi, however, recently put those rumours to bed while on international duty with a simple ‘no’ when asked whether a January exit was possible.
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Blaugrana president Joan Laporta has now echoed this statement, but he did shed some light on the plans to allow Messi to say his proper goodbyes to the Barcelona faithful.
What did Laporta say?
Speaking on Catalunya Radio to address the recent reports that he is now also under investigation because of the Negreira match-fixing scandal, Laporta said of Messi: “We proposed that he return for the beginning of this season. He told us what he thought, he made a decision.”
“He didn’t want to have the pressure of PSG for another year and he preferred to go to Inter Miami. We respect him. We appreciate him a lot and we told him that we would pay him a tribute.”
This tribute could come in the form of a testimonial. Barcelona will reportedly go on a tour of the US this winter, but as this coincides with the MLS pre-season, a match is more likely to materialise later.
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“It would be fantastic,” Laporta said, “if Messi could be at the [renovated] Camp Nou opening. It has been talked about and if it were in June 2026, it would be when the Spotify Camp Nou is finished.”
“We will return in November 2024 and that could also be an important date. Let’s see. We would like it and I hope it can be done.”
