Lionel Messi broke the hearts of FC Barcelona fans after closing the door to a potential return. The Argentine superstar went on to Instagram to address some of the speculations around him after the 2023 Ballon d’Or ceremony.
The Argentine won a record-extending 8th Ballon d’Or in Paris on October 30 but chose to focus on clearing the air on Tuesday. Messi shared a screenshot of a tweet that reported a conversation between current FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta and Messi about a possible date for a tribute match.
📺 Informa @JijantesFC
Joan Laporta y Leo Messi hablaron al final de la gala del Balón de Oro. El presidente agradeció a Leo sus palabras durante el discurso y se citaron para buscar la mejor fecha posible para el homenaje.
🔗 https://t.co/OGW0AKAWMl pic.twitter.com/ETbkKfoVlR
— Jijantes FC (@JijantesFC) October 31, 2023
While sharing the screenshot, he wrote, “You’re lying… once more.” For context, the screenshot was of a report from Jijantes FC, which is owned by a Spanish journalist, Gerard Romero, who has been reporting the ins and outs of FC Barcelona for several years.
Messi chose to call out Romero, stating that he was lying once again. Romero was accused in the summer of falsely reporting the story of Messi’s return to FC Barcelona. This time around, the Inter Miami superstar took the matter into his own hands by clearing the air around his name.
🚨 Lionel Messi responds to Gerard Romero’s claims that Messi and Laporta spoke at the Ballon d’Or gala. Messi says “You’re lying… once more… 🤥”. pic.twitter.com/5YAROIUBgy
— Roy Nemer (@RoyNemer) October 31, 2023
Since the bitter breakup with FC Barcelona in 2021, Lionel Messi has been speculated to return to the Spanish giant for a proper farewell for his illustrious career at his boyhood club; however, as per these latest developments, it feels like the Argentine has closed the door to returning to the Spanish club.
Lionel Messi wants to return to FC Barcelona for a tribute match
Even though a return to FC Barcelona as a player is highly unlikely for Messi, the Argentine has expressed his desire to return for a tribute match in the future. He spoke about the idea of the tribute match after the Ballon d’Or ceremony.
Messi commented: “I don’t know if that’s going to happen, but I would love to be able to say goodbye to people in another way. Barcelona is my home, I love the club and the people in Barcelona. If it [tribute game] happens, I would be happy to be there”.
Victory travels in @LouisVuitton. Lionel Messi and his Ballon d’Or. #ballondor with #LouisVuitton pic.twitter.com/NcxqKqajUg
— Ballon d’Or #ballondor (@ballondor) October 31, 2023
Messi also revealed that there was a strange feeling when he left the club for PSG in 2021. He further stated that he deserves to be able to say goodbye to people with whom he shared many moments together during his career.
Inter Miami owner Jorge Mas has talked about the idea of a tribute match. He previously revealed that he gave Messi his word that he would do everything possible to provide him the opportunity to say goodbye to his fans in Barcelona.
🚨🚨| Leo Messi on IG responding to @JijantesFC‘s report of him and Laporta talking about a a possible tribute at BD’Or ceremony: “You liars..once more 🤥” pic.twitter.com/DAsI1qtFsL
— BarçaTimes (@BarcaTimes) October 31, 2023
Messi moved to Barcelona in 2000 with his father, where he joined the famous La Masia academy. He made his professional debut in 2004 and went on to score 672 goals in 778 appearances. He became the leading scorer of the club in their history while winning numerous La Liga and UCL titles.
The bitter farewell of Lionel Messi at FC Barcelona is one of the chapters that the Argentine would love to redo. A tribute match sounds like the most likely possibility in the near future that could satisfy all the fans around the world.