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Barcelona president Joan Laporta has refused to be drawn on a question regarding Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) superstar Lionel Messi's possible return to Camp Nou.
Lionel Messi notably put an end to his 21-year-long association with Barcelona last year. He was keen to continue at Camp Nou, but the Catalans' financial constraints prevented them from handing him a new contract.
The Argentinean thus joined Ligue 1 giants PSG on a free transfer, putting pen to paper on a two-year deal. He has since been a key player for Les Parisiens, making 52 appearances across all competitions.
Barcelona, though, are said to be determined to re-sign Messi before he hangs up his boots. There have even been suggestions that they have already opened talks to talk the forward back to Catalonia.
However, Blaugrana president Laporta remained coy when asked about Messi's potential return. He acknowledged the 35-year-old as the best player in the club's history, but refused to disclose details of a possible transfer. He told SPORT:
"Leo [Lionel Messi] knows that at Barca he always has his home. But let me not talk about Leo because he is a player for another team and we would enter again into a series of statements and counter-statements that would not benefit us at all."
"He has a valid contract with a European club. I can only say that Leo has been the best player in the history of Barca".
It now remains to be seen if a return to Barcelona is on the cards for Lionel Messi. The Argentinean icon has his contract with PSG, for whom he has scored 23 goals and provided 29 assists, next summer.
Inter Miami confident of signing PSG superstar Lionel Messi despite reported Barcelona interest
PSG are said to be keen to tie Lionel Messi down to a new deal, while the Blaugrana want to re-sign. Meanwhile, Major League Soccer (MLS) club Inter Miami have been working to acquire his services as well.
Reliable journalist David Ornstein recently claimed that Inter Miami are confident of landing the forward in the coming months. While the deal is not set in stone, the MLS club expect the player to join them soon.
Inter Miami, who are co-owned by David Beckham, are tipped to resume talks over a move to Messi after the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Barcelona will thus have to act quickly if they are keen to see the player retire at Camp Nou.
