Lionel Messi broke his silence after his return to Camp Nou: 'I really miss everything I experienced there.'

The bond between Lionel Messi and Barcelona seems impossible to break. Although his departure in 2021 was more abrupt than he had imagined, the Argentine captain recently returned to the renovated Camp Nou to relive old memories and acknowledged that he dreams of returning to live in the city that shaped his life.

His desire to return to the city

"I'm really looking forward to going there. We miss it a lot. My kids, my wife, and I talk about the idea of moving back there. We have our house, everything, so that's what we want," he confessed in a conversation with SPORT.

He then added with nostalgia: "I'm grateful to God for taking me to that place when I was a child and also, with my children being born in the city and with everything related to the club and the city in general because I left when I was very young, I grew up and spent my whole life there. There are so many things, not only in the club, but in the city that make me want to stay."

The memory of his golden years at Barcelona

Messi recalled with emotion the most glorious stages of his career and admitted that today he enjoys them more than he did at the time: "I always feel a bit nostalgic. And a lot of emotion. The truth is that I really miss all those moments. Maybe I enjoy it more now than I did when things were happening, because of the day-to-day routine and what it meant to play match after match and think about the next game without being able to enjoy what we were doing. Now, seeing it more calmly and more relaxed, from a distance, after a couple of years have passed, you experience it much more."

The Rosario native also reflected on the happiest moments of his time at Barça: "The first sextuple with Guardiola was extraordinary, the last Champions League with Luis Enrique as well. I don't know, it's hard to pick just one moment. I cherish everything I experienced during that era, everything I grew as a person, as a player.

"And that's it, I hold on to all of that. When I see images and memories, flashes of what happened come to me, of that season, of what we lived through, and I hold on to all of it," he added.

His farewell to Barcelona

Regarding his departure from the club, he acknowledged that the farewell was not as he had imagined: "I was left with a strange feeling after I left, because of how everything happened, because of how I ended up playing my last years without fans, because of the pandemic. After a lifetime spent there, I didn't leave the way I had imagined, the way I had dreamed. I imagined, as I said, playing my entire career in Europe, at Barcelona and then, yes, coming to the United States as I did, because that was my plan, what I wanted.

"And well, the farewell was a bit strange too, because of the situation, because of everything. But well, I believe that the affection of the people will always be there, for what I said, for everything we've been through," he added.

His time at PSG

He also spoke about his short stint at Paris Saint-Germain, downplaying the drama: "When I say I didn't have a good time, it's because I didn't feel good about what I was doing and what I like to do, playing soccer, the day-to-day, the training sessions, the matches, but because I didn't feel good myself. But then, honestly, as a family we had a very good experience, the city is spectacular, we enjoyed it."

"It was the first time we left Barcelona and everything was new for us, that's why it was very difficult as well. It wasn't an injury, that's just how it happened. But honestly, I didn't feel good day to day with what I like to do. Here in Miami, yes, we're doing well, we enjoy the city, the day-to-day. It's a life very similar to what I had in Castelldefels, with the club nearby, the kids' school very close as well, everything at hand, convenient. We live far from the city, which is beautiful, but in terms of traffic it's heavy," he commented.

His participation in the 2026 World Cup

Finally, the Argentine captain spoke about his future with the National Team and his possible participation in the 2026 World Cup: "A special World Cup, it's special to play with the National Team and even more so in important, official competitions, and even more so because of what a World Cup means and after having won it as well. I don't want to be, in quotes, a burden, I want to feel good physically, be sure that I can help and contribute to the group, to the squad. Our season is different from Europe's."

"We're going to have a preseason in between, few matches before the World Cup, and see day by day if I really feel good physically to be the way I'd like to be and be able to participate. But obviously I'm aware that it's a World Cup and it's special and that the World Cup is the biggest thing there is in terms of competition. So I'm excited but taking it day by day," he concluded.