Barcelona invite Lionel Messi for long-awaited return

The 37-year-old could soon be back in Barcelona, returning three years after his tearful departure from Camp Nou.

For many Barcelona fans, the nature of Lionel Messi’s abrupt exit in the summer of 2021 are still painful.

With Barça unable to renew his contract due to financial restrictions, after two decades with the club Messi said a tearful goodbye in a socially-distanced press conference delivered in front of a modest audience.

He has not returned in the past three years but it looks like he may be about to get the send-off that he was previously denied. Radio Catalunya report that Barça has formally invited Messi to be a part of the club’s 125th anniversary celebrations later this year.

The 37-year-old is expected to play an “active role” in proceedings and his presence has been an “important” part of the planning for the star-studded event. The ceremony will reportedly be held at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona.

What next for Lionel Messi?

The club’s all-time record scorer will return to see a Barcelona team at the peak of performance, flying high at the top of LaLiga. He has been away for more than three years but has some time off now, after his current team’s season was ended abruptly.

Messi’s Inter Miami were eliminated from the playoffs in Round One earlier this month meaning that he has no competitive action until late February. He starred for Miami in 2024 but his advancing age and deteriorating fitness means that his future beyond 2025 is not clear.

His current Inter Miami contract only runs through 2025, although there is an option to extend into 2026. The next World Cup will be held in the summer of 2026 and Messi would need to be playing regularly to ensure that he is in shape for Argentina, assuming that he wants to feature in one more major international tournament.

For now, Messi’s future is unclear but he has said that he is looking to build on this year’s success with Miami.

“A season ended in which we continued to grow as a club and, although we achieved some goals, we wanted more,” Messi wrote on Instagram after the shock loss to Atlanta. “Thanks to all the people who joined and supported us. Now let’s get ready to come back stronger next year.”