Barcelona president Joan Laporta revealed the club would "very much" like Lionel Messi to return to the club.
Messi made his professional debut with Barca as a teenager and won countless trophies with the Catalan side, only to leave for Paris Saint-Germain in 2021. The World Cup winner 's initial two-year deal in Paris is due to come to an end in the summer, but has reportedly agreed an extension until the summer of 2024.
Barca manager Xavi revealed a close-season reunion with his former club colleague would be "impossible" at the time, due to his contract with PSG. The door appeared to open very slightly in November, but a number of obstacles remain if Messi is to return as a player, rather than in a different capacity after his eventual retirement.
"For us, he is the best player of all time," Laporta told club media, per Barca Universal. "We have had him here and I am convinced that in his heart he is a Culé and will always be linked to Barça.
“Whether or not he comes back as a player, at the moment he is at PSG and we would very much like him to come back one day, but we’ll see.” With Messi now in Paris, other Barca stars have been forced to step forward, and one of them - Ousmane Dembele - impressed the chief with his displays before falling short against Messi in the World Cup final.
“We renewed him and I am very satisfied with him," said Laporta, after Barcelona avoided losing the French international on a free. "In the World Cup final, I was watching them because if France won I would be happy for them.”
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Laporta's comments come just weeks after he appeared to play down suggestions of a return. "Leo knows that at Barca he always has his home," the president told Sport.
"But let me not talk about Leo because he is a player for another team and we would enter again into a series of statements and counter-statements that would not benefit us at all. He has a valid contract with a European club. I can only say that Leo has been the best player in the history of Barca."
Messi won Ligue 1 in his first season as a Paris Saint-Germain player, but fell short in Europe as the French side fell to Real Madrid in the round of 16. This season, he has already equalled his goal contribution numbers from 2021-22 with 12 goals and 14 assists in all competitions, and is set to face Bayern Munich in the next round of the Champions League after the German champions helped send Barcelona packing in the group stage.
