Will Messi rejoin Xavi Hernandez, Dani Alves at Barcelona? Everything we know so far

Legendary footballer Lionel Messi has revealed his plan on returning to Barcelona as a player in the future, amid rising speculations of his return, after club veterans Xavi Hernandez and Dani Elves returned to Barca after a more than period of five years. Alves returned to Barca on November 12, five years after he left the Camp Nou side to join Juventus. Whereas, Xavi was appointed the head coach of the club after the sacking of Ronald Koeman following Barca’s poor run of form in the La Liga 2021-22 season. Meanwhile as reported by Diario AS en, during the presentation of Alves, Barcelona president Joan Laporta expressed his thoughts by saying, he isn’t ruling out the return of Messi and Iniesta to Camp Nou, however, he also added that it may not be possible while they are players.

At the same time, as reported by Sport on Sunday, Messi has no plans to return to Barcelona in the future as he wants to help Paris Saint-Germain win the UEFA Champions League title before playing in the FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar in his peak form. The report by Sport, further stated that Messi will assess his options after the World Cup, as he has a two-year deal with PSG, with an option of a third year. Citing that the legendary footballer has a sense of pride, the reports added that Messi is not pondering about returning to Barcelona as a player. 

'I come to play and to fight for a spot on the team,' says Dani Alves

In the meantime, as per AP, after his return to Barca Dani Alves said that he insisted on his turn to help Barcelona recover from their lows, as he will be ready to fight for playing in the squad, as soon as he is eligible to play in January. Expressing his thoughts on the same, Alves said, “I come to compete, not just to spend time and live in Barcelona. I come to play and to fight for a spot on the team. I’m not back just because I have a very good relationship with the coach or the president. With hard work, I’ll try to contribute any way I can.” Alves played for Barca from 2008 to 2016, before joining the Serie A side Juventus. 

Barcelona win the first match under Xavi Hernandez

Alves’ former teammate Xavi took over the managerial position of the club, a few weeks ago, and has already won his first game as the head coach. Barcelona defeated Espanyol 1-0 at the Camp Nou on Sunday and earned their first points under Xavi. Xavi previously played for the senior team of the club from 1998 to 2015 and picked many titles alongside Messi and Alves.

(With inputs from AP)

Image: AP