Lionel Messi hopeful of Barcelona move in the future despite rejecting return this summer | OneFootball

After months of speculation regarding his future, Lionel Messi has confirmed that he will not be joining Barcelona this summer, and will instead he heading stateside to link up with Inter Miami.

The decision is a bitter blow to Barcelona, who had high hopes to convincing the Argentine to return to the club, although ultimately it was the lack of guarantee regarding registration that meant that his re-signing was unviable.

Despite this, Messi had admitted that he wants to return to Barcelona in the future (via MD), although whether it is during his playing days appears to be rather unlikely.

“Obviously I would like to be close to the club. I’m going to live in Barcelona. It is one of the things that we have very clear with my wife, my children.

“Hopefully, one day I can contribute something to the club, because it’s a club I love. I appreciate the affection I had from people during my career and I would like to be there again.”

There is surely little doubt that Barcelona would love to have Messi back at the club in some capacity in the future, although they would have dearly loved him to return in a playing capacity this summer.

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