Europe 1 with AFP 19:57 p.m., April 11, 2023
Will Lionel Messi leave Paris Saint-Germain next summer? La Pulga would be closer and closer to the start and a return to FC Barcelona is a serious track for the Argentine world champion. Some Barça players, including Robert Lewandowski, are openly calling for the striker's return.Polish striker Robert Lewandowski told a charity event on Tuesday that he "hopes to play" with Argentine Paris Saint-Germain star and former Barca star Lionel Messi next season in Catalonia. "Messi belongs to Barca, and if he comes back, it would be something incredible," said the Barca striker.
"We know his place is here in Barcelona. I don't know what will happen, but I hope that next season we can play together," added the Polish goleador. The 35-year-old striker, fresh world champion with Argentina in December in Qatar, had left Barça in August 2021 because the club no longer had the financial capacity to extend his contract. His commitment with PSG will end on June 30.
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Messi chanted at Camp Nou
And while the Parisian fans have been whistling Messi for several matches, the Blaugrana club is reaching out to him: Wednesday, during the clasico lost 4-0 against Real Madrid in the semi-final return of the Copa del Rey, and Monday evening, for the 28th day of La Liga against Girona (0-0), the Camp Nou has each time chanted "Messi, Messi!" in the tenth minute, the player's former number during his Barcelona years.
"Messi is the best player in history. The respect we have for him in our home is indisputable. We do what we have to do, Messi does what he has to do. What will happen in the future, you never know," Mateu Alemany, director of the football department of the Blaugrana club, told Spanish television before the clasico kick-off on Wednesday night.
In his first season in Catalonia, Lewandowski is currently FC Barcelona's top scorer this season, and the top scorer in the Spanish league. Lionel Messi, who had played his entire professional career at Barça before leaving in the summer of 2021, is still the club's all-time top scorer.