While Lionel Messi’s freshly extended contract with Inter Miami runs through 2028, comments from Newell’s Old Boys manager Sergio Gómez have reignited long-standing dreams of the Argentine icon finishing his career at his boyhood club.
In a recent media appearance, Gómez openly embraced the idea of Messi returning to Rosario, stating that everyone connected to Newell’s would welcome him with open arms. “Everyone at Newell’s, including us, thinks it would be wonderful if he had the chance to play for his club and in his city,” Gómez said (via GOAL). “It would be a dream not only for our fans, but for the whole country.”
The manager’s remarks add fresh fuel to speculation that has simmered for years, coming just weeks after presidential candidate Guillermo Munoz expressed similar hopes—though with a more cautious tone. Munoz stressed that any move would have to originate from Messi himself: “First we have to see if Messi is eager to connect with Newell’s… Messi has no commitment or obligation to Newell’s. But if he really wants to come, he’d have to say so.”
Messi’s current deal with Inter Miami, renewed last year and now binding him to MLS until 2028, remains the biggest obstacle to any romantic return. The extension was widely seen as a clear signal of his commitment to the American project he has transformed since arriving in 2023.
Yet the emotional pull of Newell’s endures. Messi himself recently revisited his complicated history with the club in an interview with LUZU TV, recalling how financial promises made to his family during his childhood were repeatedly broken. “My mom had to cross Rosario to get the money Newell’s had promised us and many times they gave her only 5 pesos, 10 pesos, or they’d tell her, ‘The person who has to give you the money isn’t here,’” he said. Those broken commitments contributed to the family’s decision to accept Barcelona’s offer to cover his growth hormone treatment when he was 12, launching the career that would make him an all-time great.
Gómez’s warm invitation, combined with the ongoing contract in Miami, keeps the door cracked open—just enough for Argentine football fans to keep dreaming.