Barcelona’s young star Pedri has expressed his desire to see legendary footballer Lionel Messi return to the club.
The young midfielder has taken the world by storm ever since he made his debut two years ago. Joining from Las Palmas in 2020, the youngster impressed in his debut season. He has become a regular starter for both Barcelona and Spain. Regarded as one of the world’s best young players, he even won the Golden Boy Award in 2021.
This season, he has helped the team reach its goal of winning La Liga. The midfielder has 6 goals and an assist in 26 appearances this season. After winning the league, the team erupted into celebrations to commemorate the victory.
Overall he has 20 goals and 15 assists, but more importantly, he has 146 appearances for the club at just the age of 20. He is now a crucial player for Xavi’s team and an undisputed starter.
Pedri recently spoke with the Spanish show El Hormiguero where he spoke on many topics. At one point, he was asked whether he would like to see club legend Lionel Messi come back. According to Fabrizio Romano, Pedri replied, “I see rumors on Messi everywhere… but well, I’d really like Leo’s return to Barça.”
Pedri on Leo Messi's return to Barça: "I see rumours on Messi everywhere… but well, I'd really like Leo's return to Barça", told El Hormiguero. 🔵🔴 #FCB
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 17, 2023
"Of course it depends on the club and on Leo, but… I hope that it will happen". pic.twitter.com/9ppfTloN4Z
“Of course, it depends on the club and on Leo, but… I hope that it will happen.”
He also spoke about his first encounter with Lionel Messi, “The first day, they were playing the Champions League in Lisbon and there were not many people in. The second day, when everyone came — Messi, Alba, Busi… That day I was shitting myself.”
Is Lionel Messi coming back to Barcelona?
The events and rumors in recent days make it much more unlikely that Lionel Messi will continue in Paris. Once his two-year contract ends after this season, he can leave for free. Fabrizio Romano even confirmed that Messi has now already decided to leave PSG at the end of the season, having rejected their previous contract renewal offers.’
Saudi club Al-Hilal reportedly provided the Argentine superstar a contract for more than €400 million ($438.2 million) each season. This offer was made one month ago, though Messi did not respond to it yet. The deal could reach almost one billion dollars throughout the whole contract.
Both MLS club Inter Miami and Barcelona who are the other competitors for Messi cannot give him a high salary. Barcelona are struggling with financial issues and FFP regulations making it extremely difficult for them to sign the veteran. Inter Miami is said to attract Messi through an ownership stake in the MLS club, though that may not be enough.
But it seems that Messi himself wants to return to his childhood club. The Argentine is in close contact with both manager Xavi Hernandez and even president Joan Laporta revealed he spoke with him. Fans of the club chanted Messi’s name frequently in the past few days and even now players like Pedri and Araujo expressed their desire to see him back. It was even reported that Messi was part of the title celebrations in the locker room via a video link.
Barcelona are working on strategies to convince La Liga to sign Lionel Messi. If the club can pull this miracle off, we could see Lionel Messi back in his eternal club.
