Barcelona president Joan Laporta has said Lionel Messi returning to the club as a player is "not realistic" after the Inter Miami star's surprise appearance at Spotify Camp Nou this week.

Messi, 38, made an impromptu visit on Sunday to Barça's stadium, which is still being redeveloped, ahead of joining up with the Argentina squad in Spain .

He later posted the images on social media alongside a caption saying he hoped to "return for the goodbye I never got to say as a player."

In an interview with Diario Sport , he then reiterated his desire to return to the city in the future, but Laporta has poured water on any hopes of him pulling on the Barça shirt competitively one more time.

"His departure wasn't as we wanted," Laporta told Catalunya Radio when asked about a hypothet

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