'I don't believe Lionel Messi's chapter is over' – Xavi asks Barcelona to re-sign icon next summer and president Joan Laporta opens door for return

Messi said an emotional farewell to the Catalan giants last summer after a 21-year association with the club.

During that time, he became their greatest ever player by scoring 672 goals in 778 games, while also winning 34 trophies.

He became a global icon, but Barca's financial problems meant he left to join Paris Saint-Germain.

Even though Messi is now 35, his career is by no means over and there could be one final swansong at the Nou Camp before he hangs up his boots.

Spanish publication Sport claim that current Barca boss, and former teammate of the Argentine, Xavi has told club president Joan Laporta to re-sign him next summer.

Xavi believes that Messi can bring a lot to the club both on and off the pitch – in terms of sporting impact and economic.There is also a belief that he has many years left in his career.

And Laporta himself admitted over the weekend that it is something that could happen.

In an interview with ESPN, he said: "I don't believe Messi's chapter at Barcelona is over.

"And I believe it is our responsibility to make sure that chapter is still open, that it hasn't closed.

"To have a moment to do it how it should have been done so that he may have a much more splendid ending than what he had. If I feel like I owe him one? Yes.

"Morally, as the president of Barcelona, I think I did what needed to be done.

"But also as Barcelona's president, and personally, I believe I owe him one."

The 35-year old Argentine will have a lot of reasons to make his comeback to his beloved team as his former Barca teammate is at the helm of affairs and with the kind of new signings been made, the 7-time Ballon D'or winner would love to return to the Camp Nou and lift the team up as for the last few years, nothing is going right for the Blaugranas, specially the 2021-22 season was really a season to forget for the Clues.