VIDEO: 'Unforgettable!' - Lionel Messi stuns loved-up couple before secret visit to Barcelona's revamped Spotify Camp Nou

World Cup winners Argentina are currently based in Alicante ahead of a friendly date with Angola on November 14. Messi forms part of their squad, alongside Inter Miami colleague Rodrigo De Paul. They made a point of passing through Barcelona before linking up with international colleagues.

Messi was granted access to Camp Nou, which will soon be throwing open its doors once more following an expensive upgrade. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner last graced the field there on May 16, 2021, against Celta Vigo - with his last goal for the Blaugrana taking him to 672 in total.

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He returned to familiar surroundings three months later to bid an emotional farewell to Barca and their global fan base. Messi was forced to leave as a free agent after financial issues prevented a contract extension from being agreed.

Messi said at the time, as he broke down in tears: "Everything was agreed and then at the last moment, because of the issue with La Liga, it could not be done. I did all I could to stay, that's what I wanted but it could not be done. I accepted a 50% pay cut and after that nothing else was asked of me. I feel so sad to leave the club I love at a moment that I did not expect. I never lied, I was always up front.

“I would like to thank the people's affection towards me, I would have liked to say goodbye in a different way. To be able to do it out there on the field, hear my last ovation, have them close, hear the cheering...I leave the Club without having seen them for a year and a half. I have felt the recognition and the love that I also feel for the Club. Let's hope I can return at some point and help as best I can because this Club is still the best in the world.”

Messi has now stepped foot inside Camp Nou once more, with the Argentine GOAT posting on social media in another hint at his career path leading back to Catalunya at some stage - with more statements being made regarding an emotional return to a spiritual home alongside wife Antonela Rocuzzo and their three sons: “Last night I returned to a place I miss with all my heart. A place where I was immensely happy, where you made me feel a thousand times over like the happiest person in the world. I hope that one day I can return, and not just to say goodbye as a player, as I never could…”

While few were aware of Messi’s presence on November 9, a young couple knew that he was around. That is because, while filming a romantic video on the streets close to Barcelona's iconic home, they inadvertently caught Messi, De Paul and close friend Pepe Costa passing behind them. They wrote when posting the video online: “You ask your partner out on 9/11 with a small bouquet of violets and Messi appears to make it unforgettable.”

Inter Miami managing owner Jorge Mas has said of trying to line up a friendly or exhibition game that would allow Messi to play at Camp Nou again: “Messi's departure from Barcelona was not to his liking, he could not say goodbye to his club that welcomed him as a child, and I think the circumstances were not what Lionel wanted. I gave him my commitment that I will do everything possible in the coming years to give him the opportunity to say goodbye to his fans in Barcelona. Inter Miami will go or we will do some kind of match.”

Messi will not be hanging up his boots any time soon after committing to a new contract in South Florida that will take him beyond his 40th birthday and through 2028. He is, in a Golden Boot-winning campaign, currently trying to lead Inter Miami to MLS Cup glory.