Lionel Messi speaks on Barcelona return after landmark Ballon d’Or win

Following that triumph, Messi ran down his Paris Saint-Germain contract and headed for Inter Miami in MLS, where he has just finished up his first season.

Prior to that move across the Atlantic, Messi had been heavily linked with a return to Barcelona – who he sensationally left in 2021 because of the club’s well-documented financial problems – but the club were unable to facilitate a return.

During his post-Ballon d’Or triumph press conference, Messi was, as expected, asked about a future return to Barca, where he stated: “Barcelona is the club where I grew up, which gave me everything, which I love, and where I also gave my all. Why not return to the club? But it’s not something I’m thinking about now.

“Someday, I will be living in Barcelona, I will be close to the club in one way or another. I will be linked to that home, and I don’t know what could happen.

“I would love to be able to say goodbye to the people in a different way. I think there was a strange feeling when I left, and it’s not nice considering everything we shared together. I believe I deserve to bid farewell to those people with whom I’ve shared so much joy and sorrow throughout my career. If it happens, I’d be delighted to be there, of course.

Messi responded to the idea that he could return to Barca as a coach as opposed to a player, saying of the suggestion: “Coming back to Barca as a staff or coach? Being a coach I don’t think is something that particularly attracts me.”