POPULAR MAGAZINE - The Sneak Peek (End of Summer Issue 2016) Jul. 2016 | Page 30

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Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi has reiterated his desire to rejoin boyhood outfit Newell ’ s Old Boys if he were to ever leave the Camp Nou , adding he “ would love ” to return to his native land .
The five-time Ballon d ’ Or winner spoke to Spanish magazine El Planeta Urbano and confessed Newell ’ s would be the only club he ’ d want to represent if he returned to Argentina , which could happen “ in several years ” ( h / t FourFourTwo ):
If I go back to Argentina tomorrow , which I would love , the club I would be play for would be Newell ’ s .
Messi ’ s current Barcelona contract runs until the summer of 2018 , at which point he ’ ll be 31 years of age , but the expectancy is the South American hitman will pen new terms at the Camp Nou . At the beginning of the year , Goal ’ s Ignasi Oliva reported Messi will see his annual salary almost double this summer , jumping from € 22 million (£ 17.5 million ) to € 42 million (£ 33.4 million ) as reward for agreeing to delay his extension in 2014 . Any return to Estadio Marcelo Bielsa will see Messi earn a far smaller wage than what he rakes in at Barcelona , but his passion to represent his former side may push him to one day complete a return nonetheless .