To celebrate everything Lionel Messi gave to the club, Barcelona are planning a special tribute for him once the revamped Camp Nou opens its doors again.
The stadium’s been under construction since the end of the 2022–23 season, and it hasn’t hosted a match since. But there’s real hope that a smaller version of the ground will be ready just in time for this year’s Joan Gamper Trophy on August 10.
Barcelona have even asked La Liga to schedule their first three games of the new season away from home just to buy a bit more time and make sure the stadium’s fully ready for the occasion.
Before the Joan Gamper Trophy match versus Como, load testing must be conducted, and the City Council's clearance is required to ascertain the precise capacity. The club must be "realistic" about the number, but vice-president Elena Fort has reaffirmed that 60,000 is the goal.
While construction is underway, "access and security" are the largest obstacles. In the worst situation, the miniature Estadi Johan Cruyff is a backup, and the target has been publicly questioned.
According to Fort, a Messi tribute won't happen until Camp Nou is finished, which might not happen until 2026. The roof may not be adequately finished even at that point.
Speaking to La Vanguardia, Elena Fort made it clear: Messi’s tribute at Camp Nou will happen but only once the stadium is truly complete. “He’s the greatest player in Barça’s history, so there’s no doubt it will happen,” she said.
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When asked whether the 2026 Joan Gamper Trophy might be held in a fully finished Camp Nou, Fort admitted there would still be some final work left to do.“By the summer of 2026, we’ll be able to say the stadium is finished,” she said. “The roof still needs to be closed, so it won’t quite look finished just yet,” she said.
From 2004 to 2021, Messi pulled on the Barça shirt 778 times and found the net 672 times. Those aren’t just numbers they’re chapters in a story that sometimes felt too good to be true. His exit wasn’t down to football reasons. The new contract was ready and agreed, but Barça’s financial crisis made it impossible to register. That’s the only reason he left.
After spending two seasons at Paris Saint-Germain, Messi had the chance to return to Barcelona. But he turned it down not out of emotion, but because he didn’t believe the club was in a position to actually make it work the way it should’ve been. Barça lost, and Inter Miami won.
Still, the thing about Messi and Barcelona? That bond never snapped. It stretched, it strained, maybe even tore a little at the edges but it never broke. It’s one of those rare football connections that goes beyond contracts or crests. It’s spiritual. It’s blood-deep.
Inside the club, in those quiet back rooms where jerseys hang and old goals get replayed in people’s minds, they still talk about him like he’s there. Not “was,” not “used to be.” Just… Leo. Their Leo. “Our number 10,” they still call him. His photo hasn’t been taken down. His locker was never really anyone else’s. That’s not nostalgia. That’s something sacred.
Lately, there’s been this buzz in the air subtle, not shouted. Barça are working behind the scenes on something more than a tribute match. It’s not going to be some polished PR stunt with a quick wave and a few fireworks. They want a proper goodbye. Something grand. Something worthy. A night that doesn’t just tip the hat to his legacy, but holds it up like a holy relic.
And they want it all. The old crew. Iniesta. Busi. Maybe even Pep in the stands. His family, his friends, the people who bled the same colors. The people who remember how it felt to watch him toy with defenders like they were traffic cones. And Messi, under those Camp Nou lights again, one more time. Not as a Parisian or an American import, but as what he truly is Barcelona’s heartbeat.
Thing is, Messi’s open to it. You can tell. Every time he gets asked about it and he does, a lot there’s this pause. Not the kind where you dodge the question. The kind where you feel it in your chest. He’s not hiding how much that 2021 exit still stings. No farewell. No lap. No crowd. Just a press room full of cameras and tears that didn’t get a proper place to fall.
That’s not how legends leave. That’s how people get forgotten. And Messi was never going to be just “someone who played here.” He is Barcelona. You don’t erase that with a goodbye-less goodbye.
So when a reporter finally asked him if he’d want to come back, just for one last night, he didn’t give a PR-safe answer. He gave a real one. He smiled not the Instagram one, the real one and said, quietly, “I’d love that.” Just those words. But they carried weight. And Barça heard him.
Since then, quiet calls have gone out. Discussions with Inter Miami. Nothing messy (no pun intended). Just groundwork. Seeing what might be possible once the Camp Nou rebuild wraps up. A guest appearance? A charity game? Maybe he doesn’t even play maybe he just walks out in that iconic number 10 and soaks it all in. That’d be enough. More than enough, really.
Even Jorge Mas, Inter Miami’s boss, has hinted the flexibility is there. That Messi’s contract allows for these things because they know how much this matters to him. There’s no battle here. Everyone’s pulling in the same direction.
And by 2026, Camp Nou will be back not just rebuilt, but reborn. Spotify’s helping give it a facelift, but the soul of the place? That’s untouched. New seats, better acoustics, tech everywhere sure. But the feeling when you walk through the tunnel and see the pitch? That’ll hit the same. And that’s where Messi will return. To a home that’s been waiting.
Supporters aren’t waiting for an official announcement. They’ve already started preparing like it’s happening. Fan pages are buzzing. Travel plans are quietly in motion. Flags are getting stitched, some with “Gracias Leo” written across them in bold gold letters. People are treating this like a pilgrimage because it is. For a generation, this isn’t a footballer. This is the footballer.
And the club knows that. That’s why they’re also kicking around the idea of something permanent, a Messi wing inside the revamped stadium. A place where fans can walk through his story like a museum, but more alive. The photos. The trophies. The boots he wore against Arsenal. The one he scored with against United. The shirt from that Clasico where he held it up in front of the Bernabéu crowd. His legacy turned into something tangible.
They’re not stopping at just the highlights either. They want the odd moments, too. The dribble against Getafe that looked like Maradona had entered his body. The shoulder-drop that made Milner sit down. The 91-goal year. The missed penalty. The comeback tears. Because all of it mattered. All of it was Messi.
And then there’s Xavi. His old teammate turned manager, who’s out there carrying the torch now. In almost every presser, someone asks him about Leo. And every time, there’s this look in his eyes like he’s seeing ghosts. “Leo isn’t just part of our past,” he said not long ago. “He’s part of who we are. He always will be.” That’s not a quote. That’s a confession.
Because no matter who wears the 10 now no matter how good Yamal gets, or how many trophies Barça chase there’s always going to be this invisible thread running through the club. And at the end of it? Messi. Still there. Still worshipped. Still the measure.
So yeah, when that night finally comes, maybe two summers from now, and Messi steps onto the grass with 90,000 voices rising like a hymn it won’t be about stats. It won’t be about goals or assists or records. It’ll be about something football rarely gives: peace.
A circle closed. A wound stitched. A love story finally getting its proper final chapter.
And when the lights fade and he waves goodbye maybe for real this time people won’t cry because it’s over. They’ll cry because this time, he got to say goodbye. And they got to say it back.
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