“I will do everything possible” – Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas on ‘commitment’ to providing Lionel Messi with Barcelona farewell
Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas has said that he told Lionel Messi that he will help him say farewell to his former club Barcelona.
Messi spent over two decades with the Blaugrana, having joined their famed academy La Masia from Newell's Old Boys in 2000. He made his senior debut in 2005 and became the club's greatest player. Messi scored 672 goals and provided 303 assists in 778 games across competitions, helping them win numerous trophies, including 10 La Liga titles.
The Argentine, though, had to leave the club in 2021 after they were unable to renew his contract due to La Liga's wage rules. He then joined Paris Saint-Germain before moving to Inter Miami this summer.
With Messi's departure from the Blaugrana being in such unfortunate circumstances, Mas has said he will help arrange a farewell for the forward, telling Marca (via ESPN):
"Messi's departure from Barcelona was not his pleasure. He could not say goodbye to his club, which welcomed him as a child, and I believe that the circumstances were not what Lionel wanted."
"I gave him my commitment that I will do everything possible in the coming years so that he has the opportunity to say goodbye to his fans in Barcelona. Inter Miami will go (there), or we will have some kind of match."
The Blaugrana looked to sign Lionel Messi in the summer but failed to do so due to their financial struggles.
Why Lionel Messi didn't join Barcelona in the summer?
The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner was linked with a number of clubs after announcing his departure as a free agent from PSG. One of them was Barcelona, where Lionel Messi rose and made his claim as one of the greatest players of all time.
However, he decided not to return to Barca and moved to Inter Miami instead. In an interview with Mundo Deportivo, Lionel Messi explained his reasoning behind it:
"I really wanted and was very excited about being able to return, but on the other hand, after experiencing what I experienced and the way I left, I didn't want to be in the same situation again: waiting to see what would happen and leaving my future in someone else's hands."
He added:
"Although I heard that it was being said that LaLiga had accepted everything and that everything was fine for me to come back, there were still many other things that needed to happen."
"I heard that they had to sell players or reduce players' salaries, and the truth is that I didn't want to go through that or take responsibility for something related to all of that."
Lionel Messi added that La Liga had accepted his registration in 2021, but it was too late and he was determined to not let that happen again. Hence, he decided to not return to Barcelona even though it would've been a dream reunion.