Messi feels he ‘deserves’ chance to say goodbye to Barcelona

Inter Miami striker Lionel Messi believes he deserves a chance to say goodbye to his former club Barcelona and would relish a farewell match at the Camp Nou.

Since his departure to Paris Saint-Germain as a free agent in August 2021 due to the financial crisis at Barça, there has been talk of a tribute match to honor the Argentine captain.

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Due to Covid restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, Messi’s last match for Barcelona ended in a 2-1 defeat against Celta Vigo at an empty Camp Nou in May 2021.

“I would love to be able to say goodbye to people in another way,” Messi, 36, said at a news conference in Paris after winning the Ballon d’Or on Monday.

“I think there was a strange feeling when I left. It’s not right with everything we shared and experienced together. I deserve to be able to say goodbye to people. Barcelona is my home, I I love the club and the people. If so, [tribute game] It’s happening, I’d be happy to be there…”

Messi, Barca’s all-time top scorer, spent 20 years with the Spanish side and won 35 trophies during his time there.

Barca sporting director Deco recently said Messi would “definitely play” a farewell match at Barcelona, ​​while club president Joan Laporta has already mentioned it would be fitting for it to coincide with the opening official site of the renovated Spotify Camp Nou stadium, planned for the 2025-26 campaign.

Inter Miami owner-manager Jorge Mas believes it is important for Messi to bid farewell to Barca fans.

“I gave [Messi] my commitment to do everything possible in the years to come so that he has the opportunity to say goodbye to his fans in Barcelona,” Mas said.

Messi had considered a return to Barca before joining Inter Miami after his contract with PSG expired in June.

Although he hopes to one day live in Barcelona again, playing for Barca is not something he thinks about.

“I am Barcelona as I always have been,” Messi said. “Football takes many turns and anything can happen, but it’s not something that holds my attention today.

“I could come back. I’m going to live in Barcelona, ​​it’s the club that saw me grow, that gave me everything, to which I gave everything, that I love. I can collaborate from somewhere and give the best for the club “But it’s not something I think about today. I don’t know if what I have left is a lot or a little, but I want to make the most of it. I will be close and I will always be linked to this club. “.

The 2022 World Cup winner is under contract with Inter Miami until December 2025.

“I don’t know if I have a lot or a little left, but after the career I’ve had, the only thing left is to continue enjoying it,” he said.

“As long as I am in good physical shape I will continue to compete, hopefully for a long time.”

On Monday, Messi won the Ballon d’Or for a record eight times at a ceremony in Paris after leading Argentina to the World Cup last year.

“I’m grateful for the career I’ve had, for the moments I’ve had and, obviously, in recent years, for winning the Copa America and especially the World Cup, because it put an end to a lot of things,” Messi said. in an interview with ESPN after the ceremony.

“First the dream of every player to be world champion, then to have fought for so long and to have missed the opportunity, that finally it happened and in this way… And above all because it This is what I was missing. I had everything and I was missing the most important thing, what it means for a player to be world champion, for us in Argentina after so long.

“It’s all very special.”