ionel Messi, now 36 years old, has stated that his initial impulse was to rejoin previous club Barcelona after leaving Paris Saint-Germain this summer. 

Messi’s bitter breakup with PSG after a contentious two-year stint there. The Argentine international won two Ligue 1 titles while playing at the Parc des Princes, but he was heavily booed by the home crowd at the close of the previous season after being suspended for an unapproved trip to Saudi Arabia. While Christophe Galtier was able to get Messi back into the lineup, his reputation as a player for PSG was damaged. 

The issue of Messi signing an extension remained throughout his last season. His trip to the Gulf State ended whatever hope he had of staying with the group. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner thus had to look for a new club, and in an interview with France Football, he said that his first instinct was to return to Barcelona. “I could have gone back to Barcelona, but it didn’t happen,” Messi stated. 

It was like that when I had to leave the club in 2021. It was the same here, despite the fact that the setting was different. My initial plan was to return to Barcelona, play for the club once more, and eventually retire there. However, that couldn’t happen. We thus took the choice to come here (Inter Miami),” continued the former PSG attacker. 

Messi went on to say that after winning the World Cup with Argentina, he had accomplished all of his goals in football and could focus on other factors in his decision to relocate to the United States. With his career goals met, he could “think beyond the sporting side of things, to think about my family as well,” he explained.