Lionel Messi would “love to return” to FC Barcelona in the future “

The Argentine star of Paris Saint-Germain Lionel Messi considers that the French team is “one of the favorites” to win the Champions League, but it still “lacks things to be a really strong team,” he said in an interview with the newspaper Marca .

“Everyone says that we are the great favorites and I will not deny that we are one of the candidates by name, but we still need things to be a really strong team,” said Messi in the interview published this Tuesday by the newspaper Madrid sports car.

“We have to finish consolidating as a team and we have the advantage of having great players to achieve it,” added the former Barcelona player, recalling that “the Champions League is a very difficult competition, that makes it so beautiful and special.”

“We are one of the favorites, but not the only ones,” Messi insisted, who sees the current edition of the continental tournament as “one of the most even and competitive in recent years because there are several teams that can choose to win it.”

Messi considers that Atlético and Real Madrid have their options in the continental tournament, and recalls that “Barcelona is going through a stage of reconstruction with a team in which there are many young players”, although he also highlights the extra enthusiasm that Xavi Hernández can bring .

‘Xavi can contribute a lot’

“Today I think there are better teams than Barcelona, ​​but, although they give that impression now, that does not mean that later they will not be able to fight because we must take into account the arrival of Xavi, the renewed illusions and power recover some players that now do not have, “he said.

For Messi, Xavi “can contribute a lot” to Barça, since “he is a coach who knows a lot, knows the house perfectly and has lived in Barcelona since he was a child”.

“He has renewed his enthusiasm at Barcelona because he is a very respected person by the fans and by the players. He will be a very important coach for the younger footballers because he will teach them, ”insisted the PSG forward.

“With him, the team is going to grow a lot. I have no doubt, “said Messi, who closed the chapter of his departure from the Barça club, who claimed that he did not have the money necessary to keep him due to financial fair play.

“That’s it, I left there and time has passed. What they told me is that they couldn’t renew me and that I couldn’t stay. You don’t have to look for more culprits or see what happened. I’ll stick with what they told me and that’s it, “said the Argentine star.

‘Barça is going to come back’

Messi admits that he was surprised by the return of Dani Alves to Barça, but believes “that he can be a good addition, just as in the case of Xavi he can be important for young people. It will help them grow because he is a winning person and transmits a lot ”.

Despite Barça’s difficult moment in the league, where they are 7th to ten points behind the leader Real Madrid, the former Barça captain believes that “there is still a lot left and I have no doubt that Barcelona will come back and go up”.

Messi also reiterated that he would “love to return” to Barça in the future, but while affirming that his adaptation to PSG has been good.

“I have been lucky to get to a dressing room with very good players and very good people. This is the most important. My adaptation has been very fast, ”he said.

“It is a very united wardrobe, that was already seen from the outside and it is something that I have been able to confirm when being inside,” he said, rejecting that there is a war of egos indoors.

Asked if he sees Kylian Mbappé at Real Madrid, Messi replied: “Only he knows what he has in his head and what he is going to do.” (D)