Former Barcelona star Lionel Messi likely to return to Camp Nou in 2026 – Check Details

Lionel Messi played for Barcelona for 17 years before leaving the club in 2021 due to the Catalan giants’ financial struggles.

New Delhi: The newly-renovated Camp Nou, home of Barcelona, has offered to host the Finalissima between Argentina and Spain, according to media reports. While Spain won the Euro Championship, Argentina lifted their 16th Copa America trophy. That makes the stage set for Lamile Yamal vs Lionel Messi in the showpiece event. In fact, if Camp Nou gets to host the iconic encounter, it will be the first time Messi would be returning to his former home which he had to leave three years ago due to the financial struggles of the Catalan giants.

Messi has played all his life at Barcelona for 17 years before shifting his base to Paris Saint-Germain. Currently, the Argentine plays for Inter Miami in the United States in the Major League Soccer. According to reports, the Finalissima would be played around March 2026 and the authorities at Camp Nou expect the stadium to be ready by then with an increased capacity of 105,000.

The 37-year-old’s return to his old home could also be a fitting farewell for Messi who ruled the world for good 15 years. Not just Messi, it will also see the 17-year-old Yamal being pitted against the Argentine legend for the first time in a football field.
Yamal, who grabbed all the eyeballs in the Euro Championship earlier this year, was been named the Young Player of the Tournament at the Euros and is leading Barcelona’s pack in La Liga as they look to challenge Real Madrid this season.

Meanwhile, Messi has been cleared to play again after taking two months to recover from an ankle injury, and Inter Miami indicated that the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner will return to the lineup on Saturday when the team plays host to Philadelphia.

His return will be yet another lift to the club with the best record in Major League Soccer. Messi had missed nine consecutive MLS matches and 15 matches overall this season, yet the team still has the top mark in the league and has wrapped up a playoff berth.

Messi’s most recent appearance for Inter Miami was June 1, missing time first while playing for Argentina in the Copa America tournament and then because of the ankle issue. Messi was injured while playing for Argentina in the Copa America final on July 14.

He returned to group training with Inter Miami late last month, and because of a break for ongoing World Cup qualifying matches the team hasn’t played in two weeks — buying him some more time for recovery and conditioning. Messi has 12 goals and 13 assists in 12 MLS games this season.