Iniesta calls for Barcelona to sign Messi

Stuart Telford

• 22 Dec 2022 13:24 GMT
• 3 min read

Andres Iniesta thinks Barcelona should try and bring Lionel Messi back to the club from Paris Saint-Germain, with the player given the "goodbye he deserves" at the Camp Nou.

Messi left Barca for PSG in the summer of 2021 with the Blaugrana unable to meet his contract demands whilst they wrestled with a debt which stood at €1.35 billion.

At the height of the coronavirus pandemic, few were there to see Messi off, the Argentine simply leaving Barca with 672 goals, 303 assists and 35 major honours after a tearful press conference.

READ: MLS, retirement - or one more World Cup?! What's next for Messi?

Iniesta was Messi's Barca teammate between 2004 and 2018, and he has been back at the club this week catching up with former midfield partner Xavi during first-team training as he plots his path to UEFA coaching qualification.

Messi's PSG future has been uncertain, meanwhile, with the player refusing to extend upon a contract that expires next summer before the World Cup with Argentina, which he ultimately won. Iniesta hopes he returns.

Iniesta: 'it would be spectacular'

"I don't know how these situations are handled," he said. "Leo's a PSG player and obviously as a Cule and seeing what he's been for Barca, the history he has, hopefully at some point in the coming years if he were given the opportunity it would be spectacular if he could say 'goodbye' [properly]. He deserves it, but I understand that it won't be easy to make it possible."

READ: Lionel Messi: I am NOT retiring!

Le Parisien recently reported that Messi has agreed to stay in Paris beyond this summer, but PSG have not confirmed anything, and David Beckham's Inter Miami also retain an interest.

Messi is almost certain to succeed Karim Benzema and win a record-extending eighth Ballon d'Or next year after his seven goals and three assists led Argentina to glory in Qatar, and their first World Cup since the Diego Maradona-inspired triumph in 1986.