Barcelona all-time great Lionel Messi returning to the Catalan giants is “unrealistic”, the club’s president Joan Laporta said Wednesday.

The 38-year-old Argentine superstar made a surprise appearance at Barca’s Camp Nou stadium on Sunday night and said he hoped “one day I can return, and not just to say goodbye as a player, as I never got to do”.

Eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi, Barca’s record goalscorer and appearance maker, left for Paris Saint-Germain in 2021 after two decades there because their precarious financial position meant they could not afford to keep him.

“Out of the utmost respect for Messi, the professionals at the club, Barca, and the Barca club members, I believe that now, for me to make speculation that is unrealistic, nor do I think is fair, well, I believe that is not appropriate,” Laporta told Catalunya Radio.

The president, who was in charge at the time of Messi’s departure, said he did not regret what happened because “Barca is above everything”.

Laporta confirmed he would love to hold a match in homage to Messi’s career at the rebuilt Camp Nou, once it is fully open.

“Things didn’t end the way we would have liked… if, in some way, this tribute can make up for what wasn’t done, I think it would be a good thing,” explained Laporta.

“It would be right that he has the best tribute (match) in the world, and it would be wonderful to have it here, in front of 105,000 fans,” he continued.

The president said Inter Miami forward Messi’s surprise visit to the stadium on Sunday was a “spontaneous” display of his love of the club.

Messi is currently in Spain with the Argentina national team, where they are training before a friendly against Angola.