“I Will Return…It’s My Home”: Lionel Messi Admits His ‘Future’ Is In Barcelona

The biggest chunk of Lionel Messi’s professional 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 career jigsaw. Presently playing club football in Paris Saint-Germain, Messi has often been linked with a return to Barcelona, his boyhood club. While it isn’t yet certain if the Argentine will ever play for the Catalans again, he will surely live in Barcelona once he announces finishes his career.

In an interview with Dario Ole, Messi confirmed that he intends to live in Barcelona after his playing days are over.

“When I finish my career, I will return to live in Barcelona, it’s my home,” Messi said in the interview.

Messi won the ‘most prestigious trophy’ of all as Argentina defeated France in the final of the FIFA World Cup 2022. When asked about the items he kept from the final, Messi said 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..”

Will Messi play 2026 World Cup?

In the interview, Messi also opened up about his ambitions with the international team. While the 2026 World Cup is too far right now, Messi hasn’t closed the chapter yet, as he wants to see how his career progresses 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, at present, has a contract with PSG that keeps him at the club until the end of this season. Rumours of an extension have surfaced but nothing concrete has developed so far.