Pep Guardiola says that he wants Lionel Messi to return to Barcelona where he can play out the final few years of his career.
Messi is set to depart PSG at the end of this season upon the expiration of his contract, with Barca and the Saudi League two of the most touted destinations for him and Guardiola told ESPN that he hopes to see the Argentine back at Barca where he can receive a memorable send-off.
“I just hope that one day we can see him off in the way he deserves. He was the greatest player of all time. What Barcelona achieved for ten or twelve years would not have been possible without him. Impossible. And I’m not talking about numbers, I’m talking about the impact on the game, the beauty, the aesthetics, the effectiveness… everything.”
Guardiola, who managed Messi for four years at Nou Camp, explained that he understood why the forward left Barca for PSG in 2021 but is convinced that the Spanish club’s president Joan Laporta is going to try and do everything he can to bring the 35-year old back to the club.
“It was a very quick thing, he left because of a very difficult economic situation, for thousands of reasons that I’m not going to go into and that the protagonists know about and I don’t know about. But I hope on that day to go to my place, to be able to stand up, applaud him and say goodbye to him as Leo deserves.
“I know that president Joan Laporta, who I know how highly he esteems him and I know that he is going to try to do it [get Messi back] and he and his family are going to receive the love from all of us Barcelona fans, to be able to show him gratitude and respect for everything he has given to this club.”
With Messi’s father confirming yesterday that nothing has been agreed between his son and any interested clubs, this will give Barca fans hope that they can be reunited with the man that brought them so much success in his 16 years at the club.