Barcelona icon Messi hopes for Camp Nou return

Lionel Messi hopes to play at the renovated Camp Nou before his playing career is over.

Barcelona legend Messi returned to his former stomping ground over the weekend, as he jetted to Spain to meet up with his Argentina team-mates.

The 38-year-old’s return to Europe came on the back of him scoring twice as Inter Miami beat Nashville SC 4-0 to secure their place in MLS’ Eastern Conference semi-finals for the first time in the club’s history.

Messi is Barcelona’s record goalscorer, but when he left to join Paris Saint-Germain in 2021, there was no official goodbye in front of the Blaugrana fans, due in part to the club’s financial difficulties and ongoing COVID-19 restrictions.

“Last night, I returned to a place that I miss with all my heart,” Messi posted on social media on Monday.

“It’s a place where I was immensely happy, where you made me feel like the happiest person in the world a thousand times over.

“I hope that one day I can return, and not just to say goodbye as a player, as I never got to do.”

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Barca president Joan Laporta has said he wants to bring Messi back to Camp Nou, with a tribute match mooted.

Speaking to the media at an open training session at the ground last week, Laporta said: “Always, of course, depending on what [the Messi camp] wants. There are also presidential elections before then, but in the case I am still president, I would love that.”

Barca have spent the last two seasons playing away from Camp Nou while the stadium has been redeveloped.