Newell’s Old Boys aiming to bring Lionel Messi back to Argentina in 2018
Newell’s Old Boys, Lionel Messi’s boyhood club, is angling to bring the Barcelona star back to Argentina in 2018, according to La Capital.
Messi left the club at age 13 in 2000 for the Barcelona academy. Newell’s wants to make a run at Messi following the 2018 World Cup in Russia, after which he will be 31. He has previously suggested that he may return to play for his home club before retiring.
“I am convinced, like many of my peers, we can make history as a club if we get the best player in the world in a Newell's shirt,” Newell’s vice president Cristian D’Amico told La Capital. “I think we're going to get the pleasure of Messi wearing the shirt. It would be revolutionary.
• Lionel Messi: I would like to return to Argentina someday
“Imagine a game with Messi in the Coloso [Estadio Marcelo Bielsa], with the press around the world, the sponsors who would come... that would make a difference and economically, apart from the sentimental value, it could make a big difference to cleaning up the debts.”
Messi has never guaranteed a move away from Barcelona or back to Argentina. His contract at the Camp Nou expires in 2018.
