Barcelona shocked the world in the summer of 2021 by announcing that Lionel Messi wouldn't continue at the club. After more than two decades at the club where he became the world's best player, the Argentine star became a free agent.
Unsurprisingly, it wasn't hard for Messi to find a landing spot. But settling in to a new team in a different league was quite challenging for him. His first season at PSG didn't go according to plan, as Messi met with harsh criticism from the press and fans. He eventually changed the narrative, though, as Messi received nothing but praise since winning the 2022 World Cup with Argentina.
However, since his contract is up in the summer, there's been speculation about his future. Will he stay at PSG after everything he went through? Will he take his talents to MLS? Or is he considering going back to Barca? According to his brother Matías, there's no way Messi returns to the Camp Nou unless significant changes are made.
Lionel Messi's brother rules out Barcelona return, calls out fans and Joan Laporta
Making an appearance on the Twitch channel of Messi's nephew Tomi, Labajada10, Matías didn't hold anything back. Messi's brother said Leo would only go back to Barcelona if a big cleaning is made, including the removal of Joan Laporta.
"I have a Sport headline in my house that reads: 'Messi should return to Barcelona,' and I captioned it 'hahahaha.' We're not going back to Barcelona, and if we do, we're gonna do a good cleaning. Among them, kick out Joan Laporta, an ungrateful. With everything that Messi gave to Barca..." Matías Messi said, before taking a shot at Barcelona.
"I don't know about you, but in my opinion Barcelona started to be known because of Messi," he added. "Nobody knew Barcelona before, everyone knew Madrid. So it's not nice to be paid like this. Barcelona's museum is Messi. ... People in Barcelona did not support Leo. They should have done a march or something. Let Laporta leave and Messi stay. Spanish people are traitors. My mom once told Lionel: 'They'll pay you like Ronaldinho.'"
Toni Juanmartí of Relevo later reported Messi's entourage took distance from Matías' comments, saying it's just his personal opinion. Either way, he certainly didn't do Leo any favor. If Messi had something to say, we probably would have already heard it.
