Lionel Messi’s secret Camp Nou visit and his ‘hope’ for a Barcelona return

Lionel Messi was at Barcelona’s Camp Nou stadium on Sunday night — but his former club had no idea about it.

The 38-year-old Inter Miami forward flew to Spain having scored two goals in Miami’s decisive 4-0 victory against Nashville in the MLS play-offs first round, a game that kicked off at 2am on Sunday for those watching in Catalonia.

Messi didn’t just make the trip to check up on progress in the rebuild of Barcelona’s iconic home ground, which is almost a year behind schedule. He was also travelling to join up with his Argentina team-mates, who will this week be training in Alicante before their friendly in Angola on Friday.

Instead of going straight there, he decided to make a quick stop in Barcelona, the city he first knew as a 13-year-old in 2000. He joined Barca’s youth ranks that year — and left in August 2021, aged 34, having written his name into every history book going.

The nature of Messi’s departure from Barca means there is an extra emotional layer to the image of him being back at the Camp Nou. His exit, announced in a dramatic and tearful press conference four years ago, was dictated by Barca’s deep financial problems, but he left feeling betrayed by club president Joan Laporta, who is still in charge.

Messi has been back to the city several times since, for social events with the many friends he still has here. But there is an overwhelming feeling among Barca supporters that neither side ever got to say a proper goodbye.

On Sunday night, Barcelona were playing at Celta Vigo in Spain’s north-western region of Galicia, a match they won 4-2 to cut Real Madrid’s lead at the top of La Liga to three points.

When Messi’s photos of himself at the Camp Nou were published on his Instagram page on Monday morning local time, it came as a total surprise to everyone at Barca. Nobody had any idea he was back there.

Sources among executives, communications staff and figures in the dressing room all confirmed that was the case. Despite this, Barca later shared a statement with the media in which they said they granted access to Messi after being informed of his presence at the Camp Nou by Limak, the Turkish construction company in charge of the venue’s refurbishment.

It is not clear exactly who let Messi into the ground, on a Sunday night when no work would have been taking place. But everything we know points to nobody at the club being involved.

Sources close to Messi, speaking anonymously to protect relationships, like all those consulted for this article, described the visit as lightning-fast. They said the main reason he stopped off at Barcelona was to pay a visit to the Camp Nou, out of love for the club, as he wanted to see how the stadium was looking.

However, it wasn’t just the pictures of Messi that caused surprise. It was also his message.

“Last night I returned to a place I have missed with all my soul,” he wrote.

“A place where I was extraordinarily happy, where a thousand times you made me feel like the happiest person in the world. I hope one day I can come back, and not just to say goodbye as a player, as I never got to.”

There is a lot to unravel there.

First of all, it should be reiterated that, because of the manner of his departure back in 2021, relations between Messi and Barca’s current board, led by Laporta, are not great, to put it mildly.

But clearly that should have no bearing on the affection that he still feels for Barca, a club where he wrote his legend as one of the greatest football players of all time, scoring 672 goals in 778 appearances. Seven of his eight Ballon d’Or awards were earned in Barcelona colours.

In 2023, after Messi became a free agent when his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expired, Barcelona pursued the idea of bringing him back, with Laporta meeting the player’s father and agent Jorge for negotiations.

When Messi then revealed he was joining Inter Miami, he told Spanish media outlets Sport and Mundo Deportivo that a key factor was his concern that Barca would face the same financial problems as in 2021.

However, he also added: “I had offers from another European team, but I didn’t even consider it because my idea in Europe was only to return to Barcelona.”

And he said: “After winning the World Cup and not being able to join Barcelona, it was time to go to MLS and live football from another perspective.”

This month, an Instagram post by Messi’s wife, Antonela Roccuzzo, sparked interest in Spanish media. Pictures showed how the couple’s 13-year-old son Thiago celebrated his most recent birthday with a full Barcelona theme, including a bouncy castle bearing the club’s crest.

That explains the ‘why?’ in Messi’s Barcelona visit. But why now?

It is perfectly possible the opportunity simply presented itself. Flying to Barcelona, before travelling on to Alicante, might well have been the best choice for meeting up with his Argentina team-mates. Perhaps one thing led to another and it was a spontaneous decision.

But referring back to the message he posted, one line definitely lingers: “I hope one day I can come back, and not just to say goodbye as a player.”

Reading that, it doesn’t seem unfair to consider there might be a desire to start some new phase in the Messi-Barcelona relationship.

The first thing to consider is that Barcelona are due to hold their presidential elections in the first half of next year. Laporta is looking like a strong candidate to win another term.

His most vocal opponent, Victor Font, the Catalan fintech entrepreneur who ran for the presidency at the 2021 elections but lost to Laporta by more than 13,500 popular votes, probably does not enjoy the popular support he would need to challenge.

Sources close to Messi deny that he is looking to become involved in Barcelona’s elections, but the timing and tone of his message feel somehow political — and it would not benefit Laporta, but his rivals.

Interestingly, last week, Messi was present at a business and politics event in Miami, the America Business Forum, along with U.S. President Donald Trump. He spoke about his future after football, having extended his contract with Inter Miami last month until 2028.

“I’ve always had people — trusted people — around me who took care of a little bit of (my businesses),” Messi said. “But it’s also true that recently it has led me to become much more interested in everything that was being done, and what can be done.

“The business side of things is something that interests me, that I like, and that I would like to learn, to keep learning a lot, because the truth is I don’t know anything about it. I’m just starting out in this.”

There is a degree of speculation, but at 38 and with thoughts turning to his future beyond the game, Messi is considering his options.

If his Instagram comment was not intended to strike a political tone — if we should forget the prospect of him wanting to become involved in or influence that busy part of Barcelona’s world — should we consider him possibly wanting to take up some other off-pitch role at the club? He has spoken previously about not wanting to coach. Maybe as a technical director?

We don’t have the answers. But it will be interesting to see how things develop.

For now, to consider another angle on Messi’s future, let’s head back to the Camp Nou.

There, on Friday, Barca held an open training session — the first public event at the venue since the rebuild began back in June 2023. Laporta, speaking at a press conference afterwards, was asked about the prospect of holding a testimonial match for Messi at the ground, once it is completed.

The Barca president responded positively. The stadium is scheduled to reach its finished capacity of 105,000 by the end of 2027. Currently, the ground can only hold about 27,000 fans. Barca would absolutely love to have him back for such an event.

Messi has now seen for himself how far off that is, with the top tiers still to be completed and construction cranes looming over the stadium. It gives him plenty of time to ponder — what exactly will be the next move?

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