"He will return" - Journalist claims Lionel Messi told him he would cross paths with Barcelona again 

Reliable journalist Guillem Balague has made a big claim that Lionel Messi will return to Barcelona someday. The Spanish reporter, who shares a close tie with both the Blaugrana and the Argentine superstar, has insisted that Messi still has a strong affinity towards his former club.

Messi is arguably the greatest player of all time and the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner spent the best years of his career at Barca. Having come through the Catalan giants' youth ranks, he went on to achieve everything for club and country.

The Argentine maestro was on the books of Barcelona for a total of 21 years and it was beyond imagination that he could ever leave the club. However, the Blaugrana's financial struggles saw the attacker leave the club in 2021 as he joined Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on a free transfer. Messi is currently on the roster of Major League Soccer franchise Inter Miami and is still doing a phenomenal job even at the age of 36.

Guillem Balague has now insisted that the World Cup winner will certainly return to his home i.e. Barca one day in the future. Balague said, as quoted by Barca Universal:

“Allow me to share this story that answers your question. In my book about Barcelona leaders, every person we talked about in the book had to write something. The book was delayed a little bit because Leo’s script hadn’t arrived. When I contacted him, he said, “I’ll do it.” This was a big matter. Of course, I have a good relationship with him and I am his only biography writer, but I also asked him several things and he refused, but agreed to write this text himself because it is a book about Barcelona."

The journalist added:

“In the text he wrote, he said that he is a part of Barcelona and will remain so, and that his love for the team is unconditional and that he will return to Barca. That’s what he said. He will return, there will come a time when the paths of Barça and Leo Messi will cross again. Currently he is enjoying his time at Inter Miami, but the day will come when he must return home. I think that for him home is Barcelona."

Lionel Messi has scored 12 goals and produced 11 assists in 11 games across all competitions for Inter Miami this season. It will be interesting to see whether he ever decides on returning to Barca but it would be unlikely that he returns as a player.

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Former Barcelona star makes a big claim regarding Lionel Messi

Former Barcelona winger Alexander Hleb has claimed that the Catalan giants sold the likes of Ronaldinho and Deco to 'protect' Lionel Messi. The former Belarus international has claimed that the Blaugrana feared that Ronaldinho and Deco could have possibly brought Lionel Messi down. He said to Voka TV in 2019:

"Ronaldinho and Deco came to training drunk. That's why Ronaldinho and Deco were sold in 2008. Because they [Barcelona] were afraid that they would bring down Lionel Messi."

Ronaldinho and Deco were both key players for Barca and were sold in 2008 to AC Milan and Chelsea respectively. Ronaldinho scored 94 goals and provided 71 assists in 207 appearances for the club while Deco contributed with 20 goals and 45 assists in 161 games.