Lionel Messi Statue Planned by Barcelona, Icon's Stats from Historic Run With Club

In the wake of Lionel Messi making a surprise visit to Camp Nou this week, Barcelona president Joan Laporta hopes to honor the icon with a statue at the stadium.

During an event for Barca's youth academy on Friday, Laporta announced plans to one day erect a statue of Messi that will stand at Camp Nou:

"Messi deserves the tribute at Can Barça, the most beautiful in the world, and also, along with the board of directors and his teammates, we always think that more has to be done for Messi. I think Messi should have a statue at Camp Nou. If [Ladislao] Kubala and [Johan] Cruyff also have statues [outside the Camp Nou], I think it would be only fair for Leo to have his own. He's one of those iconic players who have defined an era for all of us."

Messi spent 17 seasons with Barcelona from 2004 to '21. He is the club's all-time leader in appearances (778), minutes played (63,513), goals (672) and assists (303).

Barca won a total of 35 championships during Messi's tenure, including 10 La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey titles and four Champions League titles.

Even though Messi and Barcelona planned to get a new deal done when his previous contract expired at the end of the 2020-21 season, the club announced in August 2021 that "LaLiga regulations on player registration" would not allow it to happen.

The situation was also complicated due to an emerging financial crisis for Barca, with debts of more than 1 billion euros in 2019. Those woes were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, with losses around $560 million during the 2020-21 season.

Messi's previous four-year deal signed in 2017 paid him up to $673 million. He wound up joining Paris-Saint Germain on a two-year deal with an option for a third year.

After leaving PSG following the 2022-23 season, Messi joined Inter Miami of the MLS. He has appeared in 53 games for the club over the past three seasons.

Messi made his first appearance at Camp Nou since leaving Barcelona on Sunday, posting a series of images on his Instagram page along with a caption (h/t Sam Marsden of ESPN.com):

"Last night, I returned to a place that I miss with all my heart. It's a place where I was immensely happy, where you made me feel like the happiest person in the world a thousand times over. I hope that one day I can return, and not just to say goodbye as a player, as I never got to do..."

Laporta did say this week that Messi returning to play for Barcelona on loan is "not realistic," but his recent comments at least acknowledge a desire to pay tribute to the greatest player in the club's history.

There was no timetable given for Barca to erect a potential Messi statue. It's also unclear how much longer he intends to keep playing, though he did just sign an extension with Inter Miami through the 2028 MLS season.

Messi, 38, has teased that his national career with Argentina will end after the 2026 World Cup. Argentina is the defending World Cup champions, defeating France in the 2022 final.