Messi, who was participating in a joint training session with the Argentine national team in Spain last night, suddenly posted a set of pictures on social media of visiting the new Camp Nou, sparking a huge discussion. Media The Athletic wrote an analysis.
TA stated that Barcelona knew nothing about this trip. Messi’s trip was not just to come to the new Camp Nou. He would also join his Argentina national team teammates for training and participate in a friendly match in Angola, but Messi decided to stay in Barcelona for a short time.
Sources close to Messi said that the visit was very hasty. They said that the main reason why Messi stopped in Barcelona was out of love for the club and wanted to see the current state of the stadium with his own eyes.
This also explains Messi’s “motivation” for visiting Barcelona this time, but why now?
The most reasonable speculation is that the opportunity just happened to fly to Barcelona and then transfer to training, which may be the best choice to meet up with Argentine teammates. Maybe everything fell into place and it was a spur-of-the-moment decision.
But back to his caption, there is one sentence that is particularly thought-provoking: "I hope to come back one day, not just say goodbye as a player."
Seeing this sentence, one can't help but speculate that Messi may want to open a new chapter in his relationship with Barcelona.
The first thing to consider is that Barcelona will hold a presidential election in the first half of next year, and Laporta currently seems to be the favorite for re-election.
Sources close to Messi deny that he intends to participate in Barcelona's election, but the timing and tone of his post have a special meaning to a certain extent-this will not benefit Laporta, but may benefit his competitors.
If we put aside for the moment the possibility that he wants to be involved in or influence this complex area of Barcelona - is it possible to think that he may want to take on some kind of non-playing role at the club? He has previously stated that he does not want to coach, maybe a technical director? The answer is not yet known, but subsequent developments are worthy of attention.
Barcelona held a public training session there on Friday - the first public event since the stadium renovation started in 2023. Laporta was asked at a subsequent press conference whether there would be a farewell match for Messi once the stadium is completed. He responded positively. The Camp Nou stadium is scheduled to be renovated by the end of 2027, when the capacity will reach 105,000. Currently, it can only accommodate about 27,000 fans. Barcelona would undoubtedly like Messi to come back for such an event.
Now Messi has seen the progress of the stadium renovation with his own eyes-the top bleachers are still not completed, and cranes stand above the stadium. This also gave him enough time to think: What will be the next step?