Former Barcelona and Arsenal striker Thierry Henry has pushed Lionel Messi to rejoin Barcelona this summer. Henry made his remarks after Paris Saint-Germain suffered their second consecutive home loss in Ligue 1 and the Argentine was booed and whistled by supporters at the Parc des Princes.
By the end of the current season, Lionel Messi’s contract with PSG expires, and it is still unclear where he will play next season. When the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner’s name was announced at the Parc des Princes prior to PSG’s 1-0 loss to Lyon on Sunday, some of the home fans booed, which saw him head straight down the tunnel at the full-time whistle, once again snubbing his teammates in acknowledging the home support.
Henry voices opinion of many as he asks Lionel Messi to re-join Barca
After losing to Bayern Munich in the Champions League round of 16, PSG fans are still upset, and some of them believe that Lionel Messi should leave the team. Henry, who was a teammate of Messi’s at Barcelona, wants to see the Argentine superstar finish his brilliant career at the Spotify Camp Nou. The Frenchman claimed that Messi will not be kept at PSG if their fans continue to boo him.
He also mentioned the Argentina captain’s stats for PSG in the league this year. This season in Ligue 1, Lionel Messi has bagged 13 goals and 13 assists in 24 outings. Speaking on Amazon Prime Video, Henry said:
“I’m not saying he should leave PSG or not leave PSG. I’m happy to see him in the French league. But the boos last time didn’t help. Thirteen goals, thirteen assists (in Ligue 1 this season), we’re talking about the current best player in the world, OK?
“Personally, I would like to see him finish his career at Barcelona, in Europe. After that, I don’t know what he will do. Because the way he left Barcelona after everything he did… I didn’t really like it. For the love of football, he should go back to Barcelona.”
The 35-year-old has contributed significantly to PSG this year, tallying 17 goals and 18 assists in all competitions. PSG currently lead Lens by six points at the top of the Ligue 1 standings and look poised to retain the title. However, the club’s elimination from the Champions League, in which they lost to Bayern 3-0 on aggregate, provoked a lot of resentment amongst the fans.
Prior to departing the club in 2021 on a free transfer, Lionel Messi spent the majority of his career at Barcelona. While playing for the Catalans, the ‘La Pulga’ amassed 672 goals and 303 assists, solidifying his place among the all-time greats. Barcelona’s present financial issues, though, may make it challenging for them to entice their all-time topscorer back to the club.
Nonetheless, at the press conference to introduce the 10th Barça Academy World Cup, Barcelona’s vice president Rafa Yuste stated that the club’s sports management is in touch with Lionel Messi’s camp to discuss the Argentine star’s potential return to Spotify Camp Nou. He revealed:
“Leo [Messi] and his family know how fond I am of them. I took part in the negotiations that unfortunately did not lead to a successful outcome. I have a thorn in my side that Leo couldn’t stay at our club. If we are talking about Masia and grassroots football, we are talking about Messi. Of course I would love him to come back. For what he could represent on a sporting, social and economic level. We are in contact with them, yes.”