Lionel Messi's chances of securing incredible Barcelona return revealed after club legend's telling comments

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has seemingly closed the door on a return to Camp Nou for Lionel Messi.

The club's greatest-ever player scored 672 goals and registered 303 assists in 778 appearances before leaving on a free transfer in 2021.

Messi represented Paris Saint-Germain for two seasons before making the move to Inter Miami, and he has scored 76 goals and registered 38 assists in 85 matches for the MLS outfit.

The 38-year-old posted a message on social media last week after visiting Barcelona's renovated Camp Nou stadium.

"Last night I returned to a place I miss with all my heart. A place where I was immensely happy, where you all made me feel a thousand times over like the happiest person in the world. I hope I can return someday and not just to say goodbye as a player, which I never got to do," he said.

There have since been rumours surrounding a potential short-term loan switch to Barcelona, which would allow him to play in the club's glorious new stadium and also say goodbye to the supporters properly.

However, Laporta has said that such a scenario is 'unrealistic'.

Laporta plays down talk of Barcelona return for Messi

"I didn't know he was coming, but the Spotify Camp Nou is his home. When they planned how it happened, I think it was a sweet little spur of the moment decision. He'd just finished some dinner and felt like coming with some friends," Laporta told Catalunya Radio.

"It's only right that Leo receives the most beautiful tribute in the world. When it's finished, we'll have a capacity of 105,000 fans so we'd love to have him here. We're working on the tribute and on ensuring the best football in the world can be seen and we'd like to offer Leo the tribute he deserves.

"It wasn't how we all wanted it (Messi's Barcelona exit), things were as they were. If in some way the tribute can help to undo what wasn't done perfectly that would be good. Speculation about a possible return as a player is not appropriate.

“Out of respect for Messi, our players, and our members, it’s not the time to speculate with unrealistic scenarios.”

Messi expresses desire to return to Barcelona

Messi's departure from Barcelona in 2021 came as a huge shock, with financial problems making it impossible for the Catalan giants to keep the Argentine star.

The forward has admitted that he and his family miss living in Barcelona, which further added fuel to the talk surrounding a possible return before the end of his career.

"I'm really looking forward to going there," he told Sport. "My wife and kids are always talking about Barcelona, about the idea of living there again. We have our house there, everything, so that's what we want.

"I'm really looking forward to going back to the stadium when it's finished because I haven't been back to Camp Nou since I moved to Paris and then they moved to Montjuic."

Messi, who is yet to decide whether to represent Argentina at the 2026 World Cup, has a contract with Inter Miami until the summer of 2028, signing an extension to his deal last month.