Barcelona fans chant ‘Messi, Messi’ outside Camp Nou during Lewandowski’s official unveiling
Barcelona fans chanted the name of Lionel Messi outside Camp Nou during Robert Lewandowski's unveiling inside the stadium.
Barca fans saw the Argentina international officially leave the club, after 17 years exactly a year ago, on August 5. He wanted to stay at the club last summer but the club did not have the financial bandwidth to keep him on board.
He departed on a free transfer and joined Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and signed a contract that expires in 2023. The deal offers an option to extend his stay in Paris by another year, but it is unclear if it will be triggered at the end of the season.
However, Barca fans have not quickly forgotten about their club legend. On a day that was supposed to be dedicated to Lewandowski, the club's fans saw it fit to serenade Messi instead. The video can be seen below:
🗣 Fans chanting "Messi, Messi" at the Camp Nou!
https://t.co/Dot9MImf9D
The Blaugrana signed the Poland international from Bayern Munich earlier this summer in a move that grabbed a lot of eyeballs. The 33-year-old cost Barcelona a fee of €45 million after he made it clear that he wanted to leave the Allianz Arena.
He is expected to lead their attack next season after being handed Memphis Depay's No. 9 shirt. Lewandowski continued his goal-scoring heroics at Bayern last season, scoring 50 goals in 46 games across all competitions.
Messi, on the other hand, had a less than impressive debut season in Ligue 1. The seven-time Ballon d'Or could only muster six goals in 26 league appearances, his lowest tally in 16 years.
Barcelona return impossible for Lionel Messi at the moment, says Xavi Hernandez
Manager Xavi Hernandez was recently asked if he wanted to see Lionel Messi return to Barcelona. To no one's surprise, his answer was affirmative.
A year ago today, Barcelona announced Lionel Messi would be leaving the club.
That press conference 💔 https://t.co/jjVEVxE7Vm
However, he accepted that it would be impossible for Barcelona to sign him right now as he is currently under contract at PSG. Speaking to reporters, he said (h/t CNN):
"Yes, but at the moment, Leo has a contract with another club, so it's impossible. It's impossible. It doesn't make sense talking about Messi now. He is the best footballer in the world and in the history of football."
The 35-year-old's love for the team and the city is well known. There is every chance that he could accept a proposal that sees him return to the club where he made himself one of the world's best footballers.
However, he is no spring chicken at the age of 35. It remains to be seen if Xavi will act on his words and formalize his interest in bringing the PSG forward back to Barcelona if he is available on the market.