Marca: Messi will return to Barca, but now is not the time

The Argentine does not plan to intervene in the club's election campaign

Barcelona will enter the electoral campaign in a few days ahead of the elections to be held on March 15. Joan Laporta will resign next week to run for re-election in which he starts as a clear favourite. At the moment, there are three pre-candidates who have expressed their intention to run: Víctor Font (Laporta's main rival, who came second in the previous elections), Xavi Vilajoana and Marc Ciria.

There is a key character in Barça who can have a great influence on this whole process and it is none other than Leo Messi. A few days ago, the former Barça player showed up unexpectedly at the Spotify Camp Nou to take a look at the refurbishment of the stadium. The photos that he himself posted on the internet had a huge impact and raised the debate about what role the Argentine will play in this election.

Messi's power

The Argentine would drag many votes if he were to vote for one of the candidates. However, this is not going to happen. Messi, to this day, has no intention of interfering in that process. His idea is to stay totally on the sidelines, without giving support to anyone.

The World Cup

Messi, at the moment, has other things on his mind. To begin with, he is playing in MLS with his team, Inter Miami. And, above all, he is preparing for the next World Cup, which is going to be held precisely in the country where he is now playing. A key appointment for the footballer, as Argentina defends the title and it is very likely that it will be his last World Cup.

Back to Barça

Given this prospect, he does not want to enter Barcelona's elections. Messi intends to return to the club in the future, as he has already said lately in some interviews. This is his plan for the future, although at the moment it is not very clear in what role he will return. He has fully decided on his return, but it will not take place during these elections.

Previous elections

In the previous elections, held in 2021, although he did not speak publicly, at the time he was a player and captain of the Barça team and, in a way, his support went to Joan Laporta because of the relationship they had had in the latter's first stage as president. During the campaign, the current president assured that he had the formula to renew the Argentine, but when it came down to it, this did not happen.

Broken relationships

From that moment on, the distance between Laporta and Messi was divided. The player felt deceived by the president and they broke off the relationship they had. The failed attempt to bring him back two years later only made the situation worse. Since then, the president has tried to approach the footballer, but he has always avoided it.

Despite the fact that he does not get along with Laporta now, Messi does not want to enter this electoral process by giving support to anyone. He will wait to see how it ends and, from that moment on, and once the World Cup is over, he will begin to think about his return to Barcelona.