Lionel Messi’s ‘last dance’ at Barcelona is a real possibility, says club presidential candidate
Speculation about the future of Lionel Messi and a potential return to Barcelona intensified over the past week, following the forward’s unexpected visit to Camp Nou during his trip to Spain to train with Argentina. Now a candidate for club president has addressed the subject.
“We have to embrace Leo Messi and do everything possible so that, as soon as we can, Messi has the role at Barca that he wants to have,” Victor Font said during a recent interview with Mundo Deportivo.
With no official date set yet for Barcelona’s elections—though there is speculation they could take place in March 2026—Font has emerged as one of the potential candidates for club president. He already has experience in this arena, having run against Joan Laporta in the 2021 elections, where he lost by a wide margin.
“Would I like a ‘last dance’? As a cule, it gives me goosebumps, but that depends on him,” Font explained when asked about a possible return of Messi as a player. He also made it clear that the Argentine forward is a priority in his sporting project: “I don’t think Messi should be used, but he needs to know that the first thing I’ll do when I win the election is pick up the phone and call him.”
Lastly, Victor Font spoke about the tributes Messi could receive from Barcelona in the future. “Giving him a statue falls way too short,” he said, referring to Joan Laporta’s recent announcement about plans to honor the Argentine forward.
What has Messi said about a potential return to Barcelona?
In the times Lionel Messi has spoken about his departure from Barcelona, he has always emphasized that the way events unfolded—which led to his contract not being renewed and his forced exit to Paris Saint-Germain—was a surprise to him. However, he has rarely spoken about a possible return.
“Hopefully one day I can come back, and not only to say goodbye as a player, which I was never able to do,” Messi wrote a few days ago on his official Instagram account after visiting Camp Nou. The phrase is ambiguous, as “saying goodbye as a player” could mean having a second stint at the club before retiring, or simply playing a farewell match there.
However, the contract extension with Inter Miami through December 2028 makes it difficult to imagine room for a return to Barcelona as an active player, considering that by then the Argentine forward will be 41 years old. The only alternative, in that case, would be a brief return during Major League Soccer’s offseason, as other stars like David Beckham and Thierry Henry have done in the past.