Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski, at a charity event on Tuesday, expressed his desire for Lionel Messi to join the Catalan club once again from Paris Saint-Germain.
The 35-year-old Argentine World Cup champion left Barcelona in 2021 because the Catalan club could not afford to extend his contract, which was set to expire in June.
The summer will mark the end of Messi’s contract with the French club.
Barcelona is openly courting Messi amidst whistles from PSG supporters who consider the forward as a representation of the club’s errors in pursuing star acquisitions rather than assembling a competitive team.
“Messi belongs to Barca and if he returns it would be something incredible,” said Lewandowski.
“We know that his place is here, in Barcelona. I don’t know what will happen, but I hope that next season we can play together.”
Messi is the club’s all-time leading scorer and is regarded by many as the greatest player in football history.
In their last two games, including a 0-0 tie against Girona on Monday in La Liga, Barcelona supporters began chanting Messi’s name in the 10th minute, which corresponds to his former Barca shirt number.
The league’s leading scorer, Lewandowski, was unable to score for his team and claimed to have been injured.
“I took a blow from (Real Madrid defender Eder) Militao in the game against Madrid and I could not walk,” said Lewandowski, referring to Barcelona’s 4-0 thrashing by Los Blancos in the Copa del Rey last week.
“On the pitch, I have to play better but that knock from Militao left my body in a bad way.”
