Lionel Messi has revealed that he will return “home” to Barcelona at some stage, but only after his retirement.
The biggest chunk of Messi’s career is behind him. The Argentina legend won the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, beating France in the final, to complete the final piece of his incredible career.
The Argentine forward, who resently plays at Paris Saint-Germain has often been linked with a return to Barcelona, his boyhood team.
While it isn’t certain if he will ever play for the Catalans again, he will surely live in Barcelona once he retires from football.
In an interview with Dario Ole, Messi said: “When I finish my career, I will return to live in Barcelona, it’s my home.”
Messi won the ‘most prestigious trophy’ in the final of the FIFA World Cup 2022. When quizzed about the items he kept from the final, he revealed he took ‘everything’.
“I kept everything from the final: The boots, the t-shirts… Everything is there on the AFA property and now in March, I’m going to take everything to Barcelona, where I have my things and my memories..”
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Messi also discussed his ambitions with the international team. While the 2026 World Cup is too far right now, he is yet to close the chapter, as he wants to see how his career moves on from here on.
“Because of age, it’ll be difficult to make 2026. I love playing football and while I feel like I’m in good shape and enjoying this, I’m going to keep at it. It seems like a long time until the next World Cup, but it depends on how my career is going.”
“I saw the cup there, so close, that I was drawn to be near it, touch it, kiss it. It was such an exciting feeling to say ‘it’s done’.
“To this day it remains such an exciting moment. Even when I see it now, I enjoy it more than I did at that moment. Things have calmed down since, so it’s more exciting for me. I see a lot of videos on social media now,” he said.
Messi currently has a contract with PSG that keeps him at the club until the end of this campaign, and it remains to be seen if he will extend his contract at the club.
