“One day he will return” – PSG star believes Lionel Messi still has Barcelona ‘in his heart’

PSG midfielder Ander Herrera has claimed Lionel Messi still has Barcelona 'in his heart' and will eventually return to the capital of Catalonia. Having made his name at Barcelona, Lionel Messi joined PSG in the summer of 2021. Messi enjoyed 16 seasons with the Barcelona senior team and scored 672 goals.

Due to their dire financial state, Barcelona were unable to offer Messi a new contract and PSG used the opportunity to swoop in for the player. Messi has joined former teammate Neymar and France’s poster boy Kylian Mbappe in Paris, forming an enviable attacking trio at PSG.

Messi seems completely focused on winning something big for PSG but Herrera believes his heart still beats for 26-time La Liga winners Barcelona. In a candid interview with Mundo Deportivo, the former Manchester United player has claimed Lionel Messi will find his way back to the Camp Nou. The Spaniard said:

“Whatever you say, a headline is going to come out. Not only in Mundo Deportivo but in all places. I prefer not to answer. What I'm saying is that he has Barça in his heart, that one day he will return. But for the moment, he is enjoying himself and wants to win at PSG.”

The Argentina skipper struggled to find his footing at PSG in the early days but has now settled in quite well. Despite scoring just a single goal in Ligue 1 so far, Messi has been regularly popping up with match-winning contributions. His dribbling and ball-playing have been brilliant as ever, and he has linked up particularly well with Kylian Mbappe.

In the Champions League, the Argentine has been PSG’s leading goalscorer this season. He netted five goals in as many group stage games this season and is tipped to make a valuable contribution in the knockouts as well.

Barcelona record goalscorer Lionel Messi is PSG’s biggest weapon against Real Madrid

Former Barcelona captain Lionel Messi knows Real Madrid better than anyone else. The Argentine spent over 15 years playing against Los Blancos, scoring decisive goals against them. In PSG’s upcoming Champions League last-16 clash with Real Madrid, Messi is set to be the man leading the charge against the 13-time winners.

While playing for Barcelona, Messi faced Real Madrid a total of 45 times in all competitions, registering 26 goals and 14 assists. He has also faced Los Blancos in the Champions League before.

In the 2010-11 campaign, the two La Liga giants went head-to-head in the semi-finals of the competition. Messi scored a match-winning brace in the first leg to secure the Blaugrana's passage to the final.