Laporta firmly rules out Messi return as player - 'If you live in the past you hardly move forward' | Barca Universal

"Despite the talk and rumours, a return to Barcelona for Messi as a player was never likely at this point, even more so after he signed a new long-term contract at Inter Miami. His fraught relationship with the current Barça president, Joan Laporta, also made any plan for a comeback extremely difficult. Now, Laporta himself has come out and shut the doors on the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner making a sensational return to the club in a playing capacity."

""Leo Messi's return as a player is something just not realistic. As of now, he has a contract with Inter Miami," said Laporta, as quoted by Fabrizio Romano. Not stopping there, the Barcelona chief added that the team is looking to build towards the future and not keep looking back on the past. "The club is building a project for the present and future. It's complicated, and if you live in the past, you hardly move forward," he added."

Lionel Messi's surprise visit to the redeveloped Spotify Camp Nou rekindled speculation about a return to FC Barcelona after more than four years since his departure under disappointing circumstances. Rumours intensified after Messi expressed undying affection for the club, but a new long-term contract at Inter Miami and strained relations with club president Joan Laporta made a playing comeback unlikely. Laporta publicly declared such a return unrealistic, emphasizing the club's focus on building a present-and-future project rather than revisiting the past. Barcelona nevertheless plans to honor Messi's legacy, with proposals including a potential statue at Camp Nou.

Read at Barca Universal