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Barca manager Xavi: It's impossible for Messi to return at the moment
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Xavi Hernandez (L) and Lionel Messi, former teammates in Barcelona. /CFP

Xavi Hernandez (L) and Lionel Messi, former teammates in Barcelona. /CFP

Barcelona Manager Xavi Hernandez said it's "impossible" for Lionel Messi to join the Spanish powerhouse again at the moment.

"Leo has a contract, so it's impossible, impossible," Xavi said at the news conference in Dallas ahead of the warm-up game against Juventus at the Cotton Bowl on Tuesday.

As the most successful player groomed at Barca's youth development school La Masia, Messi spent the best years of his career playing for the club and helping them win various titles. He left for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in August 2021. Barcelona had a very disappointing season since then, winning nothing in the 2021-22 campaign. Meanwhile, Messi himself didn't do well in PSG and faced a lot criticism.

Lionel Messi of Barcelona celebrates after scoring a goal in the UEFA Champions League game against Juventus at Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain, September 12, 2017. /CFP

Lionel Messi of Barcelona celebrates after scoring a goal in the UEFA Champions League game against Juventus at Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain, September 12, 2017. /CFP

Messi still has one fixed year and one optional year left of his current contract with PSG. Barca's President Joan Laporta has in public expressed his will to bring Messi back to Camp Nou multiple times.

"Messi was everything," Laporta told ESPN last week. "To Barca, he's been possibly [the club's] greatest player, the most efficient. To me, he's only comparable to Johan Cruyff. But it had to happen one day. We had to make a decision as a consequence of what we inherited."

"I would hope that the Messi chapter isn't over. I think it's our responsibility to try to ... find a moment to fix that chapter, which is still open and hasn't closed, so it turns out as it should have, and that it has a more beautiful ending. As president of Barca, I did what I had to do. But also, as president of Barca, and on a personal level, I think I owe him," he added.

Lionel Messi (#30) of Paris Saint-Germain penetrates in the warm-up game against Gamba Osaka at Panasonic Stadium Suita in Osaka, Japan, July 25, 2022. /CFP

Lionel Messi (#30) of Paris Saint-Germain penetrates in the warm-up game against Gamba Osaka at Panasonic Stadium Suita in Osaka, Japan, July 25, 2022. /CFP

"It doesn't make sense to speak about Messi. He is the best player in the world and the best ever. The president has already said that he hopes Messi's story has not finished with Barcelona. We will see in the future, but it's not the moment to speak about Leo, it's the moment to talk about the exciting players we have here," Xavi said.

Barca were very busy trying to enhance their squad during the summer transfer window. They acquired Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich and Raphinha from Leeds United. However, judging by the club's efforts of trying to save money in Lewandowski's transfer negotiations, they may want to wait until Messi becomes a free agent to sign him back.

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