Lionel Messi said he hopes to return to Spotify Camp Nou for the farewell he “never got” as a Barcelona player after visiting the revamped stadium for the first time on Sunday.
Messi, who returned to Spain before joining the Argentina national team, posted photos on social media inside Camp Nou just over 24 hours after leading Inter Miami to the next round of the MLS qualifiers.
“Last night I returned to a place I miss with all my heart,” he wrote alongside the photos on Monday.
“It’s a place where I’ve been so happy, where you’ve made me feel like the happiest person in the world a thousand times over.
“I hope I can come back one day, and not just say goodbye as a player, like I never did…”
Messi (38 years old) spent most of his career in Barcelona before hastily leaving for Paris Saint-Germain in 2021 due to the financial problems that the Catalan club is suffering from.
As a result – and also partly due to the coronavirus restrictions in place at the time – Barcelona’s record appearance and top scorer was unable to properly bid farewell to the team.
Club president Joan Laporta has since spoken of wanting to bring Messi back for a tribute match, suggesting it would be the ideal way to open the new Camp Nou stadium, which has been closed for redevelopment since 2023.
“It will be a great way to open the stadium (when it is completely finished), with 105,000 spectators present to honor Leo,” Laporta told reporters after an open training session in front of 23,000 fans at Camp Nou last week.
“Always of course, depending on what (Messi’s camp) wants. There are also presidential elections before that, but in case I am still president, I would love that.”
Messi, whose relationship with Laporta cooled after his departure, has not previously commented on the possibility of returning to participate in any such match. Work continues at Camp Nou.
Barcelona currently have a license to host matches with 25,991 fans in attendance, but are hoping to gain permission to increase that to 45,401 fans later this month, at which point they will return to the arena after spending more than two years playing in the city’s Olympic Stadium.
However, the third of the three layers still needs to be finished and the roof added. When the renovation is completed, which is not expected until 2027, capacity will rise to 105,000.
Messi returned to Europe over the weekend after scoring two goals on Saturday to lead third-seeded Inter Miami to victory over sixth-seeded Nashville in the decisive third match of the first round of the Eastern Conference qualifying series.
– Track Messi: Goals, assists, key moments for Inter Miami
– Lionel Messi’s double leads Miami to win its first MLS playoff series
He also assisted on two goals as Inter Miami set up a showdown with FC Cincinnati in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
However, he is currently back in Spain preparing to join up with Argentina’s squad in Alicante ahead of Friday’s friendly match against Angola in preparation for next summer’s World Cup.
During his 17 years in Barcelona’s first team, Messi scored 672 goals in 778 matches, winning 34 trophies, including 10 La Liga titles and four Champions League titles.
