Deco, the FC Barcelona sporting director, thinks Lionel Messi will play in a farewell game at the Camp Nou before calling it quits.

After financial difficulties at Barcelona prevented the team from even registering Messi, the star left the club in 2021.

He spent two years with PSG before making the summer move to Inter Miami.

A newly restored Nou Camp will be the site of the Argentine captain’s games, according to Deco.

The man Deco called the club’s “greatest idol” has yet to return to action, although a specific timetable for his return has not been announced.

Deco told the Brazilian publication Lance, “[Messi] will definitely play a farewell game at Barcelona, but when that will be, we don’t know.”

He will forever be the most revered figure in the history of the club. He may be the greatest idol the club has ever had, and that includes [Johan] Cruyff and Ronaldo.

Club president Joan Laporta has said that November 2024 is a potential date for Messi’s final game. It has been suggested that Messi’s final game at the Camp Nou could coincide with its grand reopening.

However, the stadium is expected to still be under construction by November 2024, with work likely continuing into the 2025-26 season. The area, however, may now be secure enough for play to resume.

According to Catalunya Radio, Laporta expressed his desire for Messi to attend the reopening of Spotify at Camp Nou.

The project is scheduled for completion in June 2026, but we anticipate returning in November 2024, which is also a viable option. Let’s wait and see. That will happen, and I hope it does, because it is what we want.

While that work is being done, Barcelona is playing its home games at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, the city’s stadium that hosted the 1992 Summer Olympics.

Messi won 10 La Liga crowns, 7 Copa del Rey trophies, and 4 Champions League trophies during his stint with the Catalan club, scoring 672 goals and assisting on 303 more.

His time in Paris came to an end this year, and he’s since moved to South Beach and Major League Soccer with the intention of playing for Inter Miami.

‘I’ve been friends with Leo for a long time,’ Deco continued. His trip to the United States has been on the agenda for quite some time.

This is a concept he’s been bringing up for a while. The two years at PSG made all the difference…

“I wasn’t included in the discussions [about Messi’s possible comeback]. Messi is, without a doubt, a huge idol for the team.

I suppose he had to find fulfillment in his work, and he does now.

A return to Barcelona would have been historic, given his status as the game’s all-time leading scorer, but things worked out the way they did, and he seems content. That’s the crux of the issue.