Barcelona's LaLiga rivals' president provides response when asked if Lionel Messi will join his club amid recent rumors

Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has dismissed rumors that Barcelona legend Lionel Messi could join his club. He believes that the Argentine will remain at Inter Miami, and they have no place in their squad.

Speaking to the media at MADCUP 2026, Cerezo stated that Atletico Madrid will not be signing Messi, as their squad is already sealed for the season. He added that the Argentine is unlikely to make a switch back to Europe and said (via Fichajes):

"I think Messi is in the United States playing for Inter Miami and I think thinking about that, I don't know, how could you have thought about that (laughs). We have a great team, we already have it in its entirety, definitely closed, and now what we want is for this team to be together and start working."

Lionel Messi played for Barcelona until 2021, playing 778 games and scoring 672 goals before moving to PSG. He faced Atletico Madrid 43 times, scoring 32 times against Rojiblancos.

Lionel Messi wanted to make Barcelona return in 2023

Lionel Messi was leaving PSG in 2023 when he had the option of returning to Barcelona or moving to Inter Miami. He was keen on making a return to the Catalan side, but could not fulfil his dream, as the club were not in a financial state to afford his contract.

Speaking to Mundo Deportivo, he said:

"I wanted to return, I was very excited to be able to return, but after having experienced what I experienced and the exit I had, I did not want to be in the same situation again: waiting to see what was going to happen and leaving my future in the hands of another. I wanted to make my own decision, thinking about myself, about my family. Although I heard that it was said that LaLiga had accepted everything and that everything was fine for him to return, there were still many other things that had to be done."

"I heard that they had to sell players or lower player salaries and the truth is that I didn't want to go through that, or take charge of obtaining something that had to do with all that. I have already been accused of many things that were not true in my career at Barcelona and I was already a bit tired, I didn't want to go through all that."

Lionel Messi is in the final months of his contract at Inter Miami, and contract talks are ongoing.