Lionel Messi makes heartbreaking Barcelona admission after Camp Nou return

Lionel Messi made a surprise return to the Camp Nou this week for the first time since his emotional exit in 2021 but it appears that the 2022 World Cup winner is already planning a reunion

Lionel Messi has admitted that he wanted to spend his entire career at Barcelona after making a shock return to the club. The Argentine departed the Camp Nou back in 2021, with the club not able to renew his contract due to their dire financial situation.

Messi has gone on to play for Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami since then. However, he surprised supporters earlier this week by sharing some behind-the-scenes photos of him at the Camp Nou, which is currently in the middle of a major renovation.

“Last night, I returned to a place that I miss with all my heart,” Messi wrote alongside the photos. “It’s a place where I was immensely happy, where you made me feel like the happiest person in the world a thousand times over.

“I hope that one day I can return, and not just to say goodbye as a player, as I never got to do…”

Messi has now spoken out for the first time and claimed that he always had ambitions of retiring with the Catalan giants and was not satisfied with his farewell. Speaking to SPORT, he said: “I think I was talking about this with you once.

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“I was left with a strange feeling after leaving, because of how everything happened, because I ended up playing my last years without fans, because of the pandemic. After spending my whole life there, I didn’t leave the way I imagined, the way I dreamed.

“I imagined, as I said, playing my entire career in Europe, in Barcelona, and then, yes, coming here like I did, because that was my plan, what I wanted. And well, the farewell was a bit strange too, because of the situation, because of everything. But well, I think the fans’ affection will always be there, because of what I said, because of everything we’ve been through.”

And while he has stopped short of suggesting that he would play for Barcelona again, he does want to return to the city to live. He added: “I’m really looking forward to going there.

Will Lionel Messi ever return to Barcelona? Share your thoughts in the comments below

“We miss Barcelona so much. My wife and the kids are always talking about Barcelona, about the idea of living there again. We have our house there, everything, so that’s what we want.

“I’m really looking forward to going back to the stadium when it’s finished because I haven’t been back to Camp Nou since I moved to Paris, and then they moved to Montjuïc.

“It’s going to be strange going back to the new stadium and seeing it because the last time I saw it was a long time ago, and it’s going to be exciting to relive and remember everything that was like, even though the stadium is different. Thank you for all the support, as always.”

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