As the transfer saga surrounding Barcelona player Lionel Messi continues, the president of Argentina has waded into the issue, pleading with the 33-year-old to return to his former club, Newell’s Old Boys.
Messi failed to show up for pre-season medical tests at Barcelona recently and La Liga had issued a statement, showing support for the Spanish side’s claim that the clause in his contract which would allow him to leave hasn’t expired.
A number of clubs have been linked to the talisman, including Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Inter, and Juventus, but nothing has been made official at this point.
Fans of Newell’s Old Boys, an Argentine club where Messi played as a junior, recently took to the streets to urge him to make a return and the country’s president, Alberto Fernandez, voiced his desire to see the renowned player end his career at the club.
Fernandez said:
“You are in our hearts and we have never seen you play in our country. Give us the pleasure of ending your career with Newell’s Old Boys, your club.
The great merit of Maradona is that he played alone against the world. I’ve never seen a player like Maradona. I admire him deeply – more than Messi, to be honest, because he comes from the Argentinos’ youth. He was a kind of gladiator, with incredible strength.”
