Argentina and Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi is still going strong at the age of 38 despite recent rumors about his retirement. And, one of Newell’s Old Boys’ head coaches has stated that the Argentine’s potential return before hanging up his boots would be a dream.
Newell’s Old Boys Coach Opines on Lionel Messi’s Potential Return
Before attaining stardom at Barcelona, Messi made local headlines during his five-year stint at Newell’s Old Boys’ youth academy. He played for his hometown’s club from 1995 to 2000 before leaving Argentina for Spain and representing the Catalan giants for 21 years.
Newly appointed Newell’s Old Boys bosses Favio Orsi and Sergio Gomez are both keen to see the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner return to his boyhood club in the near future.
“Everyone at Newell’s Old Boys, including (me and Gomez), thinks it would be wonderful if he had the chance to play for his club and in his city,” Orsi told ESPN.
Gomez remarked, “It would be a dream not only for our fans, but for the whole country.”
Messi, who will turn 39 in June, has a contract until December 2028 at Inter Miami. He could opt to seal a move closer to his country after potentially announcing his international retirement at the end of Argentina’s 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign this summer.
“First, we have to see if he is eager to connect with us. I may really want him to come, but it’s not enough to just say, ‘Someday, someday.’ I see him and he makes me cry. But that doesn’t mean he’s above the club at all,” Guillermo Munoz, one of the club’s candidates to take over as president, told TNT Sports.
Munoz also clarified that the Inter Miami captain must openly reveal his desire to return to Newell’s in the same vein as former players Diego Maradona and Gerardo Martino.
“One day, Maradona said, ‘I’m going to play in Newell’s.’ One day, Tata Martino said, ‘I’m going to lend a hand in Newell’s.’ Messi has no commitment or obligation to Newell’s. But if he really wants to come, he’d have to say so.”
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On the other hand, Messi’s club are in the process of strengthening their squad to convince their veteran captain to continue to play for the club. They are reportedly in a race with Liga MX side Monterrey to sign Atletico Madrid icon Antoine Griezmann this summer.
But, Inter Miami could miss out on Griezmann’s signature as Monterrey’s sporting project is of interest to the 34-year-old Frenchman, according to journalist Alex Silvestre.
