Messi made a surprise appearance: the inside story of his return to Camp Nou

BarcelonaThe big question that many Barça fans have been asking themselves this Monday morning after See the images of Messi at Camp Nou The question is whether the Argentine had entered with Barça's approval or behind the club's back. Barça's official version is as follows: "Messi arrived and requested permission to access the Camp Nou training ground from Limak security personnel. The company forwarded the inquiry to FC Barcelona, who had no problem accepting the request. Messi will always be more than welcome, so there was no issue in authorizing his visit." About two hours after Messi's post, Barça posted another message on the club's Instagram account with a photo of the footballer on the Camp Nou pitch accompanied by the text "Always welcome home, Leo."

ARA has learned that Messi entered Camp Nou on Sunday after dark. He did so through the entrance at the intersection of Travessera de les Corts and Arizala Street. This is the area that the players' buses, referees' vans, and ambulances will use to enter the stadium. After crossing a large parking lot, the path leads to a tunnel that goes directly onto the pitch. Specifically, to the corner of the stand with the south goal. That's where the photograph was taken. "All the access doors are locked when the construction work ends. Nobody can enter at night. Special cards are needed for access. And in the photos, there's almost match-day lighting. It's clear the club knew about it," a person close to Laporta explained to this newspaper. According to RAC 1, Messi visited Camp Nou accompanied by Rodrigo de Paul, his teammate at Inter Miami and on the Argentine national team, and did not contact anyone at Barça at any point to inform them of his visit.

A letter to the election

Messi chose to visit Camp Nou this Sunday while Barça were in Vigo to play their league match. They ended up winning 2-4 against Celta with a hat-trick Robert Lewandowski's team. President Joan Laporta traveled to Vigo accompanied by other directors. Therefore, a reunion between Laporta and Messi after the contentious departure of 2021 was impossible. Because Messi's unexpected return to Camp Nou can be interpreted in electoral terms at Can Barça.

In recent weeks, several media outlets have published reports about the possibility of Messi endorsing a candidate in the upcoming club presidential elections, scheduled to take place between March 15 and June 15, 2026. So far, Messi has not publicly taken any steps in this direction, and it doesn't seem that his return to the pitch of the stadium where he was happy should be considered significant. However, it is a reality that the potential candidates who will compete with Laporta to win the elections are making efforts to reach out to the Messi family. When asked by ARA, some of these potential candidates expressed surprise at Messi's statement.