Lionel Messi to be handed mega-project offer

Argentine football is plotting a future shock – an attempt to bring Lionel Messi back home. Newell’s Old Boys vice-president Juan Manuel Medina confirmed to Argentine outlet TN that the Rosario club is working on a project designed to see the No 10 wear the shirt of La Lepra.

With nothing confirmed beyond intent, the idea would be for Messi to arrive at Newell’s in the first half of 2027. “We’re working on Leo playing for Newell’s in the first half of 2027, but for now that’s all there is,” said the club executive.

The plan to bring the Argentina captain back to Rosario goes well beyond the purely sporting. “This is a project that goes beyond Newell’s. It’s a project for the city of Rosario, for the province and for Argentine football,” Medina explained. “Everything depends on what we can offer in terms of infrastructure and a competitive sporting setup,” he added.

Messi, who signed a contract extension with Inter Miami in 2025 tying him to the MLS club until the end of 2028, is the centerpiece of an idea that aims to transcend what happens on the pitch. Medina told TN that the city’s highest authorities are also involved, underlining just how historic such a move would be.

The Newell’s executive revealed that initial contacts began in 2024 and that, while a return to Rosario has long been speculated about, it has never materialized. The club’s current president, Ignacio Boero – who won the elections in December 2025 – was the driving force behind turning the idea into a long-term project.

Newell’s have already begun upgrading their facilities. The Marcelo Bielsa Stadium has recently been modernized, while improvements have also been made to the club’s Jorge B. Griffa training complex.

With nothing defined, as Medina himself stressed to TN, talks have already taken place with Messi’s inner circle. “It was discussed and the idea was put on the table, but today there are no decisions,” he said. For now, anything more would be speculation or wishful thinking on the part of the club. Whether Messi shares that desire remains to be seen. What does seem clear is that a date has been penciled in – and that the ambition is to reshape Argentine football.

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