A lot of speculation is happening about the future of Lionel Messi.
The Argentine forward is on top of the world after winning the World Cup and adding the ultimate crown to glitter up his iconic career.
But Messi still doesn’t seem to be fully sure about what lies in the future of his domestic career.
He is currently contracted to play at PSG until the end of the season – with his current deal expiring in the summer.
Messi is yet to sign an extension and that has sparked rumours that he could be tempted to rejoin Barcelona.
The Blaugrana, of course, are having a very good season after enjoying a prolific summer transfer window.
Bolstered with a strong squad, they’re now eight points clear at the top of the La Liga table and seem destined to win the title over Real Madrid.
Barcelona would welcome Leo back with open arms – as long as the terms as right and the league allows it.
Their fans are desperate to see him play at Camp Nou again – but Messi is yet to make a definitive public comment on if he wishes to make a return.
What did Matias Messi say about Barcelona?
Amid all the chatter about him possibly returning, a whole new controversy has come up to raise bigger question marks on the ‘dream return’.
Recently, the brother of Leo Messi – Matias, who is barely known by most of the football fraternity – made some shocking comments on what it would take for him to return to Barca this summer.
Speaking on his son’s Twitch channel, Matias went on an explosive rant – slamming the Barca fans, Catalonian people and Barca president Joan Laporta.
He said:
We are not going to return to Barcelona, and if we do, we are going to do a good clean out.
Among them, kicking out Joan Laporta, ungrateful with all that Messi gave to Barcelona. The people didn’t help him, they should have gone out for a march or something, let Laporta go and let Messi stay.
The Catalans are traitors. My mom told Lionel once, they’re going to pay you like Ronaldinho. Nobody knew them (Barca) before, only Madrid and getting paid like that is not good.
Matias infuriates fans and Joan Laporta
Of course, this infuriated a lot of Barca fans.
The fact is that the supporters, at least those in the city itself, tried their best to ensure Messi never left.
But the La Liga wage rules at the time made it impossible for him to re-sign – resulting in a teary goodbye.
The Argentine forward has reportedly distanced himself from the comments.
His ‘inner circle’ people have made it clear that Leo does not have the same views as his brother and that Matias’ comments are his own personal opinion.
Leo’s brother has also infuriated many within Barcelona with his damning comments, including Joan Laporta – who is offended at the jibes at him and how he indicated that the Blaugrana were not a big club before Messi arrived.
Laporta’s campaign manager Lluis Carrasco bit back at Matias, saying:
Matias, FC Barcelona was big without Messi, but he made it bigger & bigger. What I wonder is what you would be without Barça & your brother. Thanks.
Pathetic apology
Matias appears to have realized his mistake of flaming an entire club and its fanbase.
He quickly put out an apology statement, writing on Instagram:
I want to apologize for what I said on social media, I was just joking with my son and friends. How can I think that of a club as big as Barcelona, which has given so much to my family and Leo. Catalonia is our second home and that is public knowledge.
The video in which the Argentine blasted Barca has also been deleted from Twitch after getting bad comments.
Matias was not even known by many a few days ago and only became viral because of his comments, getting a few days of (unwanted) fame.
Some fans find it hilarious how he managed to ignite an online war on social media among some of the Barcelona supporters along with die-hard Messi fanboys.
Leo will probably be irked that this even happened, as it inevitably creates a bad reputation for him too – convincing some fans that his whole family hates Barcelona after the way they treated his exit.
He’s currently focused on finishing the season strongly with PSG, but it remains to be seen if this controversy dampens the possibility of his return to Camp Nou.