Inter Miami head coach Gerardo Martino has laughed off reports linking Lionel Messi with an audacious return to Barcelona over the winter.
Ever since bidding an emotional farewell to the Catalan giants in 2021, Messi has been tipped to return to Camp Nou for one last swansong - a scenario that was hitherto seen as impossible amid their financial concerns.
Once it became clear that Messi's time at Paris Saint-Germain was over this summer, speculation over a Barcelona homecoming for the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner unsurprisingly intensified once again.
However, the Argentina World Cup winner elected to make the switch to MLS instead, also snubbing interest from Saudi Arabia to pen a contract with Inter Miami until December 2025.
Barca president Joan Laporta claimed that his side did everything in their power to re-sign Messi, who has made a fast start to life in North America with 11 goals and five assists from 13 games.
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The 36-year-old scored in every game for the Herons during their run to the Leagues Cup title, but their bid to reach the MLS playoffs fell apart during his absence through injury.
Messi returned as a second-half substitute in Sunday's clash with Cincinnati, but he could not prevent Martino's side from slumping to a 1-0 defeat, which ended their hopes of a place in the postseason.
With Messi now set for a lengthy period with no club football, recent reports have suggested that Barcelona could make a move to re-sign their all-time record goalscorer on loan in January.
The La Liga champions even appeared to tease his return with a series of cryptic social media images, but Inter Miami head coach Martino has played down such talk.
Asked about the Messi rumours by the press at the weekend, Martino responded: "Is he going for fun? Maybe he's going to visit Barcelona. Other than that, I don't know anything else about it."
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Prior to his tearful exit in the summer of 2021, Messi registered an astonishing 672 goals in 778 games for Barcelona across all competitions, as well as 303 assists in a glittering 16-year spell.
Alongside his fast start to life in MLS, the attacker continues to shine at international level and has scored in each of his last eight appearances for Argentina since the end of the World Cup group stage.
Messi has not ruled out playing in the 2026 World Cup in North America, although he has stressed that he wants to focus on the upcoming Copa America next year before deciding on his international future.
The 36-year-old has been called up to Lionel Scaloni's squad for this month's internationals, where La Albiceleste will meet Paraguay and Peru in their next two World Cup 2026 qualifiers on October 13 and 18 respectively.
Ben Knapton
