Lionel Messi admits returning to Barcelona was his preference (Getty)
Lionel Messi has revealed that he wanted to return to Barcelona this summer but claims ‘many things were missing’ which prevented him from reaching an agreement with his former club.
The 35-year-old had held extensive talks with Barcelona over a possible return to Camp Nou once his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expired at the end of the month.
However, Messi has turned down the opportunity to have a second stint at Barca and will instead join Major League Soccer side Inter Miami on a free transfer.
In a joint interview with Spanish newspapers Sport and Mundo Deportivo, Messi said: ‘Yes, the truth is, I obviously really wanted to, very excited to be able to return, but, on the other hand, after having experienced what I experienced and the exit I had, I did not want to be in the same situation again – wait to see what would happen and leave my future in someone else’s hands, so to speak.
‘I wanted to make my own decision, thinking about myself, about my family. Although I heard that it was said that La Liga had accepted everything and that everything was fine for me to return, there were still many other things that had to be done.
‘I heard that they had to sell players or lower player salaries and the truth is that I didn’t want to go through that, or take charge of obtaining something that had to do with all that.
Lionel Messi left Barcelona in tears in 2021 (Getty)
‘I have already been accused of many things that were not true in my career at Barcelona and I was already a bit tired, I didn’t want to go through all that. And well, the time I had to leave, La Liga had also accepted that they sign me up and in the end it couldn’t be done. Well, I was afraid that the same thing would happen again and I had to go through the bullfight as it happened, that I had to come here to Paris to stay in a hotel for a long time with my family, with my children going to school and still being in the hotel.
‘I wanted to make my own decision and that’s why I didn’t turn to Barca. Although I would have loved it, it couldn’t.
‘I am also in a moment where I want to get out of focus a bit, think more about my family. As I was just saying, I spent two years at a family level that was so bad that I didn’t enjoy it. I had the month that was spectacular for me for having won the World Cup, but removing that was a difficult stage for me.
Asked what was the biggest factor behind his decision to not return to Barca, Messi said: ‘Having my own decision and not having to wait again and that the same thing that already happened could happen.
‘As I was saying, after having achieved everything thanks to God and having finally achieved the World Cup, what I wanted so much, I also wanted to look for something else and a bit of peace of mind.’
Inter Miami’s co-owner David Beckham will welcome Lionel Messi to MLS (Getty)
Asked if he felt Barca had done everything in their power to bring him back to Camp Nou, Messi said: ‘Well I don’t know. It is their issue.
‘Honestly, I don’t know if they have done everything possible or not. I knew what they was talking about with Xavi, above all. Now they had, by what is said, obtained the permission of La Liga to be able to do it.
‘But I’m telling you, it wasn’t just that. Many things were missing. The club, today, was not in a position to confirm 100 per cent that I could return. And it is understandable, due to the situation that the club is going through, and that is how I saw it.’
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Messi also rejected lucrative offers from Saudi Arabia and other clubs in Europe before accepting Inter Miami’s proposal.
‘I had offers from other European teams but I didn’t even consider them because my idea was to go to Barcelona and if the Barcelona thing didn’t work out, analysing it, then leaving European football and much more after winning the World Cup, was what I needed to do,’ Messi said.
‘Cclosing my career on this side and living the United States league in a different way and enjoying day to day much more but with the same responsibility of wanting to win and always doing things well but with more peace of mind.
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‘Many things were missing.’