Lionel Messi left Barcelona under a cloud in 2021. / Eric Alonso/Getty Images

Lionel Messi revealed that he and his family plan on returning to live in Barcelona at some point in the near future.

The Argentine icon first moved to the Catalan capital when he was a teenager, belatedly convincing Barcelona to pay for the growth hormone treatment which his boyhood club, Newell`s Old Boys, couldn`t afford. That relationship which began with a contract hurriedly scrawled on a napkin in a tennis club would last for 21 years, bring 778 appearances, 672 goals and 34 trophies. But it all ended in tears.

Barcelona`s desperate financial situation-which was a consequence of mismanagement punished by the COVID pandemic-prevented the club from handing Messi a new contract in 2021. For the first time since he was 13, Messi would have to find a new club.

The eight-time Ballon d`Or winner didn`t need to send around footage of himself juggling different household objects on this occasion-although it would have been interesting to see if he still possessed the deftness of touch which allowed him to perform 113 keepie-uppies with an orange two decades later-he was not short of offers.

Paris Saint-Germain would whisk Messi away to the French capital for two years before he joined Inter Miami in 2023. The 38-year-old has committed his future to the Herons, penning an extension until 2028 just last month, but has his heart set on a return to Barcelona in the future.

Messi remains interested in a return to Barcelona. / David Ramos/Getty Images

"I`m really looking forward to going back there," Messi told SPORT this week. "We miss Barcelona a lot. My wife and I, the kids, are always talking about Barcelona, ​​about the idea of ​​living there again. We have our house there, everything, so that`s what we want."

Messi was recently pictured at the renovated Camp Nou, captioning an explosive social media post: "I hope I can return someday, and not just to say goodbye as a player, like I never got to..."

This secret trip has sparked all sorts of speculation but it seems as though Messi`s playing days at Barcelona are over. However, there is still the possibility that he returns to the club in a different capacity-perhaps as a sporting director-once he hangs up his boots in Florida. He will, after all, be living in the city.

Messi Picks Out His Favorite Barcelona Memories

Lionel Messi didn`t feel part of his first Champions League triumph in 2006 but was the star of the show in 2009. / Tom Jenkins/Getty Images

Messi`s fondness for Barcelona undoubtedly stems from the unbridled success he enjoyed at Camp Nou. When asked by SPORT to pick his most cherished memory from his time at the club, he understandably admitted: "It`s hard to pick just one. Thank God I was lucky enough to experience so many moments."

"I don`t know, generally when we talk about happiness we think about titles, achievements, the important things we`ve accomplished," Messi mused. "But the first sextuple with [Pep] Guardiola was extraordinary, and the last Champions League with Luis Enrique was too. I don`t know, it`s hard to pick just one moment."

Messi was already considered one of the world`s greatest talents when Pep Guardiola was appointed Barcelona manager in 2008, but the former club captain turned tactician saw the Argentine`s greater potential. "With me, you`ll score three or four goals a game," Guardiola told Messi. He wasn`t too far off.

Across Guardiola`s opening 18 months in the job, Barcelona won all six available titles riding on the back of Messi`s prolific output, becoming the first team in European history to achieve a clean sweep domestically, on the continental and global stage.

The last of Messi`s four Champions League titles came under Enrique in 2015. What had begun as a tumultuous campaign-and reportedly included the manager telling Messi that he knew Barcelona`s star player could get him sacked on a whim-ended in another treble.

"I`m grateful to God for taking me to that place when I was a boy, and also for the birth of my children in the city, and for the entire club and the city in general because I left as a child, grew up, and spent my whole life there," Messi gushed. "There are so many things, not only at the club but in the city, that I have to cherish."