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Lionel Messi has been told he can have the No. 10 shirt at Argentine side Estudiantes if he decides to quit Barcelona.
Manu Carreno at Cadena SER has reported Messi is considering leaving the Camp Nou at the end of next season, and Estudiantes chairman Juan Sebastian Veron told Fox Sports the forward would be welcome at the Jorge Luis Hischi Stadium.
“If you want to come here [Estudiantes], you have the ’10’ ensured. Beyond that, I don’t really imagine him outside Barcelona, but these are things that we say today, and tomorrow we see him out there going to another club. The reality is that he is the only one who has the decision and desire; no one else knows.”
Veron knows Messi well from playing alongside the Barcelona star with the Argentina national team and also added his thoughts on the current situation at Barcelona. The club look set to relinquish their league title to Real Madrid, and Veron feels they are a team in transition.
“It is not a good period for the team, they are undergoing changes and these changes are difficult; it is difficult to find a Xavi and an [Andres] Iniesta, you will not find either. It is a moment of transition and complexity that ultimately Barcelona will have to work through in order to find the answers to all of this.”
Could Messi Return to Argentina?
Messi has spoken of his desire to retire at Barcelona, but he’s also talked in the past of playing in Argentina once more before he hangs up his boots.
Yet if he were to return home the one club he looks destined to play for is not Estudiantes but former club Newell’s Old Boys.
Messi told Argentine television station El Trece back in 2018 that it would be a dream to play for his boyhood club again but he’s not sure if it’s possible.
“I always said I wanted to play in Argentine football one day, I don’t know if it will happen but I have it in my mind. It would be at Newell’s, nowhere else. I would like to do that for at least six months, but you never know what will happen.”
Newell’s certainly haven’t given up hope that their famous son will one day return to the club. Vice-president Cristian D’Amico told TNT Sports recently that he does not not know “if it’s impossible” for Messi to return and also added “when Maradona came to Newell’s nobody thought he could come.”
Barcelona Confident Messi Will Stay
Meanwhile, Barcelona remains confident Messi will stay at the Camp Nou despite rumors he is frustrated and wants to quit. President Josep Maria Bartomeu addressed the speculation after Sunday’s 4-1 win over Villarreal.
“I am not going to give details of the negotiations but he has said many times that he wants to end his career at Barça. We are now focused on competitions and there are negotiations with many players. Messi wants to continue at Barça and wants to end here. He has many years left and we are going to enjoy him for longer.”
Yet Barcelona does have work to do to keep hold of their captain. His contract expires at the end of next season, and he will be available to walk away as a free agent at that time unless they can convince him to sign a new deal before then.
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