Barcelona coach Flick: Sign Messi? Why not...?

Barcelona coach Flick: Sign Messi? Why not...?

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick admits he'd happily add Lionel Messi to his squad.

While Barca president Joan Laporta shut down talk this week of Barca re-signing Messi on-loan from Inter Miami in order to help him stay sharp for Argentina's World Cup defence next summer, Flick has offered the opposite view.

He said on Friday: "Why not? Messi is the best footballer of the past ten years – or more.

"I've always enjoyed watching him play. What he's achieved is incredible. Of course, he would be good for any team. But the facts are: his contract runs until 2028, my contract ends in 2027."

"So for me, the question doesn't even arise."

Messi recently visited the renovated Camp Nou, which will be Barcelona's home ground for the first time in almost two and a half years when they play Athletic Bilbao today and emphasised: "I hope that one day I can return, and not just to say goodbye as a player, as I never was able to do."