- Lionel Messi, Gerard Pique reportedly not in favour of Barcelona comeback
- Thiago Alcantara linked with return to Nou Camp from Bayern Munich
- Left club in 2013 to join Bavarian giants, exit seemingly left duo unimpressed
- READ MORE: Barcelona step up transfer interest in Tottenham attacker to link up with Philippe Coutinho
Thiago Alcantara is reportedly keen on returning to Barcelona, but it’s claimed that neither Lionel Messi nor Gerard Pique are keen on the idea.
The 26-year-old left the Catalan giants in 2013, opting to join Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich where he has gone on to make 135 appearances and win four Bundesliga titles as well as several domestic cups.
In turn, given at the time he was still battling for regular football with top class options such as Xavi, Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta, it was arguably a commendable decision to move away from the Nou Camp in favour of what he believed was a move to further his own career by reuniting with Guardiola.
However, according to Don Balon, as re-reported by The Express, it’s claimed that his desire to now return to Barcelona hasn’t sat well with either Pique or Messi who weren’t impressed with his exit and lack of patience to stick with the club.
That seems a little harsh in truth to begrudge a player making the decision to leave the club he came through the youth ranks with and made over 100 appearances for. It could be argued that Thiago did show loyalty to that point, but ultimately a move elsewhere made sense at the time for him.
Nevertheless, whether or not he is able to secure a return to Barca now remains to be seen, as it would seemingly make sense for the Catalan side. With Busquets, Ivan Rakitic and Paulinho all on the wrong side of 30, Ernesto Valverde could arguably do with more youthful exuberance in that department.
Having made 45 and 36 appearances in all competitions in his last two seasons with Barcelona respectively, Thiago knows what is required to shine at the Nou Camp but it would seem as though he still needs to convince Messi and Pique.