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Ronald Koeman has welcomed the idea of Lionel Messi making a return to Barcelona and believes the Argentina star is still the best player in the world.
The former Barcelona boss was in charge during Messi’s last season with the Catalan club before he made an emotional exit on a free transfer to French giants Paris Saint-Germain.
Barca sacked the Dutchman in October 2021 after a poor run of form with the 60-year-old now returning to manage the Netherlands national team following the retirement of Louis van Gaal after the World Cup in Qatar.
Koeman himself will not be returning to Barcelona any time soon, but he still holds out hopes that Messi will make a romantic return to the club, amid speculation such a move is in the works.
“Messi is the best player in the world and when he left it was difficult,” he said at the Koeman Cup, a charity golf and paddle event.
“The team that has him is going to be stronger. His departure from Barca was a very bad day.
“If I see Leo with another shirt it hurts me. It’s his home, where he needs to be. It was not good that the board did not give him the possibility to stay, but I am in favour of Messi being a Barca player.”
Since his sacking, Koeman’s successor Xavi has led Barcelona on an inspired league run this season with the side 13 points clear at the top of LaLiga with just 10 games remaining.
“With Xavi they have improved and will surely win the league,” Koeman said of the head coach.
“It’s a much-improved squad. A coach is good or bad depending on his players. For me, we have to celebrate this league in a big way because we are talking about several previous seasons that Barca has not won anything.
“Barca are there for their own quality and for their defence. It should be noted that they have only conceded nine goals. It is deserved and if the others have not been at this level, it is their problem.”
