Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernandez has reacted to the recent report that the club’s legend Lionel Messi could return to the club in the nearest future.
Recall that Barca president Joan Laporta recently hinted that Messi could return to the club but according to Xavi Hernandez, such a dream is “impossible right now.”
The Spanish La Liga giants had no other option than to release their legend last season after they got into a financial mess that left them with over £1billion in debts. Paris Saint Germain took full advantage of Messi’s stunning departure as Messi signed a two-year contract with the French Ligue 1 champions.
However, the seven times Ballon d’Or winner struggled throughout his first season at the club, scoring just 11 goals in all competitions for the Ligue 1 champions.
His poor performance has made some Barcelona supporters believe that he may return to his boyhood club.
But Xavi Hernandez who knows the Argentine football icon very well as they played together for many years at the Camp Nou before Xavi left in 2015, argued that Lionel Messi won’t come back anytime soon.
He’s not even ready to think about such things because Messi still has a contract with another club.
While speaking with reporters in Dallas on Monday evening ahead of their pre-season game against Serie A side Juventus which ended in a 2-2 draw, Xavi said: “He has a contract and it’s impossible right now. Messi is the best footballer in the world and history. President Laporta already said that Messi’s story with Barca is not over, but now is not the time to talk about it.”
Xavi: “Makes no sense to speak about Leo Messi’s comeback at Barcelona right now, he’s under contract with PSG so it’s impossible. We’ll see in the future”. 🚨🇦🇷 #FCB @HelenaCondis
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 26, 2022
“Laporta had already said he hoped it was not yet the end for Messi at Barça”, Xavi added. pic.twitter.com/9U0FQ9FxGX
However, Xavi Hernandez’s statements are opposite to what Barcelona president Joan Laporta told ESPN when he was asked the same question about Lionel Messi. According to Joan Laporta, Messi is everything to Barcelona and possibly their greatest player and he can only be compared to Johan Cruyff. But the departure had to happen as one of the consequences of their actions.
He added that he’s hopeful that one day the World’s best player will return to Barcelona because his chapter is not over.
Joan Laporta believes that it’s the responsibility of the club to try and find a moment to fix that chapter that is still open and hasn’t closed.
Lionel Messi achieved a lot of unbelievable success during his 21 years at Barcelona after coming from the club academy system.
He grew to become one of the greatest players for the club with 672 goals, and many collective and individual awards.
Barcelona enjoyed an amazing run for so many years because of the impact of Messi who helped them to win 10 La Liga titles, 14 other domestic trophies, and 4 UEFA Champions League titles.
