Lionel Messi Returning to Boyhood Club Unlikely After Shooting, Newell’s Old Boys Boss Says | OneFootball

Lionel Messi will have his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expire in June and there’s plenty of speculation about where he’d play next season.

If the 35-year-old were to exit the French capital, many in Argentina hoped for a return to his boyhood club Newell’s Old Boys. However, after a shooting on Thursday that hit close to home to Messi, heading to where his career began doesn’t seem likely.

Newell’s Old Boys manager Gabriel Heinze believes that the threat perpetrated in Rosario by a group of drug traffickers against Messi and his family “distances” the Rosario star from returning to the club.

“This pays attention to everything, to everyone and everything that this is,” Heinze told reporters (h/t TUDN). “Of course, this drives Leo and anyone else away. We are talking about this because he is Leo, but there are also many boys who would like to return [to Argentina].”

If Messi doesn’t extend his contract with PSG, the likely destinations will be MLS side Inter Miami and perhaps a Saudi Arabian club. Nonetheless, if the 2022 FIFA World Cup winner wanted that storybook ending to his career, it doesn’t seem it will happen.

As for a future in Paris, his performance in the UEFA Champions League will largely be tied to whether he remains.