The soccer world has been buzzing with hypothesis over Lionel Messi’s subsequent transfer as his Inter Miami contract nears its finish. With the 2026 World Cup approaching and followers eager for another glimpse of him on European soil, rumors have linked the Argentine icon to one in every of Barcelona’s fiercest rivals. However the membership president has now spoken out — and his response left little room for doubt.
Messi’s journey since leaving Barcelona in 2021 has been something however atypical. After a trophy-laden spell with PSG, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner transferred to Inter Miami, immediately turning into the face of Main League Soccer. However together with his contract set to run out on the finish of the 12 months, hypothesis a few potential European return has grown louder.
Reviews instructed {that a} La Liga comeback could possibly be on the playing cards — a transfer that will see Messi face his previous membership, Barca, in home competitors. Followers debated whether or not a reunion with Spanish soccer could possibly be a part of his plan to remain sharp forward of the following World Cup.
Membership president feedback on rumors
Halfway via this storm of hypothesis, the thriller membership’s president was requested immediately about the opportunity of signing Messi. His response was fast, agency, and laced with humor. Talking at a press convention, Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo laughed off the rumors and made it clear that no such transfer was within the works.
Lionel Messi from his time at Barcelona
“I believe Messi is in america taking part in for Inter Miami, and I imagine excited about that, I don’t understand how you possibly can have considered that (laughs),” he mentioned, based on Fichajes.
He additional emphasised that the membership’s squad will not be solely aggressive but additionally “undoubtedly closed” for the season: “Now we have a terrific group; we have already got it full, undoubtedly closed, and now what we would like is for this group to be collectively and begin working.” This remark successfully guidelines out any strategy for Messi and highlights the membership’s deal with continuity reasonably than blockbuster signings.
Messi’s personal ideas on La Liga return
This isn’t the primary time Messi has been linked with a Spanish return. In 2023, when he left PSG, he admitted to Mundo Deportivo that he wished to return to Barcelona, however circumstances made it inconceivable: “I wished to return, I used to be very excited to have the ability to return, however after having skilled what I skilled and the exit I had, I didn’t need to be in the identical state of affairs once more: ready to see what was going to occur and leaving my future within the fingers of one other. I wished to make my very own resolution, excited about myself, about my household.”
He went on to say that the Blaugrana’s monetary state of affairs, which required promoting gamers or lowering salaries, pushed him towards selecting Inter Miami as a substitute. Messi’s future stays one of many hottest subjects in world soccer. He’s within the closing months of his Miami deal, and negotiations are reportedly ongoing a few attainable renewal. For now, although, a sensational transfer to Barcelona’s La Liga rival seems firmly off the desk.
