Lionel Messi: Why I Refused to Return to Barcelona After Leaving PSG

Barcelona president, Joan Laporta, has shared a conversation he had with Lionel Messi, where the forward revealed why he snubbed a return to the team.

Messi said he passed over the chance to rejoin the La Liga club because of how “difficult” his spell at Paris Saint-Germain was.

Laporta made this known during an interview with Mundo Deportivo. The Argentina international, instead, chose to Inter Miami in the Major League Soccer (MLS).

“The player wanted it, the father wanted it, but the rhythms are different. We didn’t want what happened last time.

“He told us that he decided to join Inter Miami because he had spent very difficult seasons in Paris, where he was under a lot of pressure, while in Miami he would be calmer and could think about the national team and that, although he wanted to come to Barça, he didn’t want to spend another year like this,” Barca president said.

Meanwhile, Lionel Messi earlier opened up on what influenced his decision to join Paris Saint-Germain after he left Barcelona.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner left the Spanish team in 2021 as a free agent, because of their financial issues. Following an emotional exit, Messi was then unveiled by the Ligue 1 champions.

The 35-year-old playmaker’s two-year stint at PSG has now come to an end and he is set to sign for Inter Miami in the Major League Soccer (MLS).

Messi told Bein Sports in an exclusive interview that he opted for Paris Saint-Germain because his friends were there. After being signed by the French side, he teamed up with international teammates Angel Di Maria and Leandro Paredes.

“I came to Paris because I liked the club and had friends there, and a lot of people I knew from the national team. It seemed easier for me to adapt unlike anywhere else I could have gone and that’s why I decided to come to Paris,” Messi said.