“We are ready to start a new stage”, said Messi upon his arrival in Miami, the most important city in Florida. This morning he will be presented as an Inter Miami player alongside Sergio Busquets at the Drive Pink Stadium in an event that has been called ‘The Unveil’. In his first hours in the city of Florida, Messi was seen with his family in a supermarket near the apartment he owns in the Porsche Tower, located in the luxurious Sunny Isles Beach development. Happy and satisfied that he was able to decide on his next destination in time.
Contrary to what happened in Paris. Leaving Barcelona and changing a whole life was not something that entered into the plans of the Argentine, who was living until the end of October in the central Parisian luxury hotel Le Royal Monceau.
The first year of adaptation was hard. The second did not have a happy ending. Criticized and booed by the fans, the Argentine found it difficult to live with a dressing room full of stars and had to live with the discrepancies between Mbappé and Neymar. For everything he rejected renewing a bond that was never emotional. In fact one of the first things he did after the end of his contract was to stop following PSG on Instagram. In his account there was never a section of outstanding stories reserved for the French team. Yes, there are some with memories of his family, the Argentina national team and of course FC Barcelona.
He never forgot his club. Whenever he could, he watched the matches of his former team live and traveled on his days off to Barcelona to meet up with his wife, Antonela Roccuzzo, with their old friends: Alba and Busquets.
He was also no stranger to the busy Barcelona news. “I have spoken to Leo. He congratulated me and we joked, which is what we always do”, acknowledged Xavi on the day of his presentation as coach. The coach was the person Messi chose to chart a possible comeback. I had already won everything. Including the World Cup. But he felt that he had a pending subject: to say goodbye to his home.
It was last January, on Kings Day, when Messi made up his mind and called Xavi. “I would like to come back”, he told his coach and friend. “Are you sure?” Xavi asked him. After Messi said yes, they both talked about their sporting role. “Leo could play in several positions: false nine, winger, interior, even at the base of the square to make the last pass”, detailed Xavi later, happy and excited with his return They also discussed the non-sporting fit of the Argentine in a Barça that, after his departure, has learned not only to play but also to live without its star. “We are a pineapple, a family”, Xavi always remembers.
Messi accepted his new role. I wanted to come to join and help the collective. And coach and footballer agreed to continue talking. At the same time, Messi spoke to his father to ask him to initiate contact with Barcelona. Jorge Messi and president Joan Laporta met in April. The cooling phase that followed the farewell of the Barcelona footballer, the result of a clash of egos and financial complications in the summer of 2020, required it. At the same time, Xavi was talking to his footballers to warn them that Messi’s return could be a reality. He even used that letter to try to convince Busquets to renew for another year.
In the offices Mateu Alemany, director of football, worked on the feasibility plan with Messi. And Laporta, who always regretted the departure of the striker, also approached the president of LaLiga, Javier Tebas, who finally accepted the Argentine’s fit. “Fate brings you back to where you should be. Messi is in love with Barcelona and we are in love with him”, said vice-president Rafa Yuste. “We heed fate if it is so wise. I hope he comes back”, said Xavi.
However, when the club obtained approval for the viability plan, things had already gone awry. Messi, suspicious of his privacy and who only spoke with Xavi, was looking for discretion in the negotiations which he considers was not given. Too many people in the club put things in his mouth that he didn’t say or things that didn’t happen. The ghosts of the past returned. In recent weeks he stopped talking to Xavi, who already suspected that his return was unlikely.
At the beginning of June, Jorge Messi met with Laporta for 25 minutes. He informed him that Messi had chosen Miami. Despite the disappointment, Barça understood his decision. Of course, the mutual desire for a tribute to the new Spotify Camp Nou is still standing.
