Lionel Messi returning to Barcelona? Star's brother launches savage rant at club | OneFootball

Lionel Messi's brother, Matias, has launched a savage rant against Barcelona as speculation continues to swirl about the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner's future.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward was forced to leave Barca for the French capital in the summer of 2021 after 17 years in Catalonia.

During that spell, Messi won pretty much every trophy available to him, shattering the club's record books in the process.

Overall, he scored 672 goals in 778 games for La Blaugrana, a record that will surely never be broken.

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Despite his enormous importance to the 26-time La Liga champions, Barcelona's horrendous financial state at the time meant that it was impossible for them to re-sign their star man due to sanctions imposed by Spanish football chiefs.

Messi went on to bid farewell to the club that he had called home for more than half of his life in an emotional press conference.

BARCELONA, SPAIN - JULY 16: Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona shows his disappointment during the Liga match between FC Barcelona and CA Osasuna at Camp Nou on July 16, 2020 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Before the superstar even spoke, both he and many of those in attendance were in floods of tears.

While it was a tough goodbye for both player and supporters, the Barca fanbase has always held out hope that their hero would one day return and don their colours again before finally hanging up his boots.

The 35-year-old's contract at PSG expires in the summer and he has yet to decide where his future lies.

BARCELONA, SPAIN - AUGUST 08: Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona faces the media during a press conference at Nou Camp on August 08, 2021 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)

Big money offers from both Saudi Arabia and the MLS have reportedly been made to Messi's advisers. However, if Messi does decide to leave the Parc des Princes, most footballing romantics would like to him make a triumphant return to Barcelona.

Judging by footage and quotes from Matias Messi on a recent Twitch stream, that doesn't look particularly likely.

Messi's older brother still clearly feels resentment towards how Barcelona handled the player's exit - and is particularly unhappy with club president Joan Laporta.

"I have a clip that says ‘Messi should return to Barcelona’ and I said 'Ha ha ha ha, we are not going back to Barcelona, and if we do, we are going to do a good cleaning. Among them, kick out Joan Laporta,'" he insisted via @AlbicelesteTalk on Twitter.

Relations between the Messi family and Laporta have been strained ever since the full scale of the club's financial problems came to light prior to Lionel's exit.

Time certainly hasn't those wounds, but Matias went even further with his rant, sensationally blaming the Barcelona fans for not doing more to try and block the move - calling them 'traitors'.

"People [in Barcelona] did not support him. They should have gone out for a protest or something, Let Laporta leave and Messi stay. The Spanish are traitors. I’m telling this because I want it to come out of our guts."

Soccer Football - Champions League - Group H - Juventus v Paris St Germain - Allianz Stadium, Turin, Italy - November 2, 2022 Paris St Germain's Lionel Messi before the match REUTERS/Massimo Pinca

He also took shots at a couple of Barcelona's young stars during the stream.

Asked who he preferred out of Pedri and Gavi, Matias replied: "Pedri or Gavi? I don't like any of them, but I'd say Gavi."

He then bizarrely claimed that 'Barcelona became known thanks to Messi', arguing that 'nobody knew about the club before his brother's arrival.

BARCELONA, SPAIN - MAY 31: Joan Laporta, President of FC Barcelona speaks as Sergio Aguero is presented as a Barcelona player at the Camp Nou Stadium on May 31, 2021 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Does Lionel Messi agree with his brother's comments on Barcelona?

Given that the original Twitch stream has now reportedly been deleted, it's fair to assume that somebody close to the Argentine has stepped in to get the comments taken down.

It's hard to imagine that Messi would have been happy with the content of the interview conducted by Mathias.

In particular, the swipe aimed at the Barcelona fans seems needless and not something that Messi would endorse after being supported by the club's supporters for so many years.

SAN FRANCISCO - AUGUST 08: Lionel Messi #10 of FC Barcelona looks on againt Guadalajara Chivas during an international friendly match at Candlestick Park on August 8, 2009 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

It remains to be seen if Messi will ever play for Barcelona again, but his brother might want to give the city a wide berth for the foreseeable future.