Lionel Messi hasn't pleaded to return to Barca, but he has said he would like to come back at some point in his life - but no one knows when.
Lionel Messi and Deco were teammates for four seasons at Barcelona in the mid-2000s.
There wasn't a better love story in the world of club soccer than Lionel Messi and FC Barcelona. The club that took the Argentinian kid in was rewarded tenfold by Messi turning into arguably the best player of all-time, leading to countless trophies for him and the club. But then it ended in a way no one wanted it to.
With the election of Joan Laporta to the presidency, his focus was on rebuilding the club. That left Messi with no room, or at least that's what Laporta claimed. Messi left to PSG, then settled at Inter Miami. Meanwhile, Barcelona began building with an incredibly talented youth movement. Now, both Messi and Barcelona are thriving without each other.
That hasn't stopped Barca fans from wanting to see Messi sport Blaugrana colors once again. There have been rumors for a couple of years now that Messi wants to go back at some point, but no one is quite sure if that means as a player or once his playing career is over.
Deco splashes cold water on Leo Messi's return to Barcelona
If Messi wants to play there before he retires, though, he hasn't made that clear to the current Barcelona front office. Sporting director Deco, who was Messi's teammate at the club in the mid-2000s, recently spoke about the possibility of Messi's return. He made it clear that Messi has never contacted the club to discuss a potential return.
"That scenario of a return - at least since I've been here - was never put on the table. Neither Messi nor anyone in his inner circle called to say: 'I want to come back; I want to play.' There were a lot of rumors - a lot of things that were untrue. Talking about these things with a player as great as Leo is somewhat absurd if there is nothing concrete. As a player, he is in good form. He went to Inter - he made that decision - and things fell into place; he is surely happy there."
Fans will have to keep waiting to see Messi back at the renovated Camp Nou.
