R. De Paulis: "L. Messi wanted his presence in Barcelona to be as mysterious as possible."

2025-11-15 12:56 © Lionel Messi asm,

The Miami "Inter" club midfielder and Argentina national team player Rodrigo De Paul revealed how his friend Lionel Messi's journey to the "Camp Nou" stadium happened:

"Before we flew to Argentina, L. Messi said with that calm smile on his face: Rodrigo, we will first go to Barcelona... I want to see the ‘Camp Nou’. I thought he was joking, but he wasn’t.

We booked a private flight from Miami and almost no one knew we were there. L. Messi wanted it to happen quietly, without fuss and cameras. We were at a hotel near the stadium. He sat on the balcony, looked at the stadium, and said: this whole place... is a part of me.

I couldn’t say anything – I just smiled and said: that’s right, Leo... there is no club in the world that is worthy of you as much as ‘Barcelona’.”

L. Messi played for the ‘Barcelona’ club from 2004 to 2021 and scored 672 goals in 778 matches while winning numerous team awards along with individual prizes.