Newell's Old Boys vice president Juan Manuel Medina has revealed the club have held talks with Lionel Messi over an emotional return to his boyhood club.

Messi started playing for the Rosario club when he was seven years old, before joining Barcelona at the age of 13.

The Blaugrana and Argentina icon has been linked with a return to his home country on several occasions, but the prospect of him pulling on the Newell's shirt again seemed remote when he signed a new three-year contract with Inter Miami last year.

However, reports this week suggested Newell's were close to agreeing a deal with the MLS Cup holders, which would see Messi return on loan in the early stages of 2027, before heading back to his parent club.

MLS is changing its calendar to align with Europe's top leagues in 2027, meaning Messi would return for the start of the 2027-28 campaign.

Asked if talks had taken place with Messi's entourage, Medina told TN: "The idea was discussed and raised, but today there is nothing definite.

"It is a project that transcends Newell's. It is a project of the city of Rosario, the province of Santa Fe and Argentinian football.

"It all depends on what we can offer in terms of infrastructure and a competitive sports scheme."

MASTER PIECE

Great portrait of Leo Messi made by the artist Jorge López, using extracts from the soil where GOAT was born.

From our school to the World  #Newells

pic.twitter.com/3kihOL4hPG

— Newell's Old Boys (@NewellsEnglish) November 21, 2022

Messi was named the Most Valuable Player in MLS for a second successive campaign in 2025, becoming the first player in the competition's history to achieve that feat.

Messi, who finished the regular season with 29 goals and 19 assists, securing the Golden Boot ahead of Nashville SC's Sam Surridge and Los Angeles FC's Denis Bouanga, is just the second player to win multiple MVP awards, after Predrag Radosavljevic in 1997 and 2003.