Jorge Mas, the controlling owner of Major League Soccer (MLS) team Inter Miami, has disclosed that he intends to play a game at Barcelona to give forward Lionel Messi a chance to say goodbye to the supporters of his old team.

There have been suggestions about holding a tribute game in honor of the Barcelona great ever since the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner left the Spanish team for Paris Saint-Germain in August 2021.

Mas told Marca: “I gave [Messi] my commitment that I will do everything possible in the coming years so that he has the opportunity to say goodbye to his fans in Barcelona.

“Inter Miami will go [to Barcelona] or we will have some kind of match. Messi’s departure from Barcelona was not to his liking, he could not say goodbye to his club, which welcomed him as a child, and I think the circumstances were not what Lionel wanted.”

It would be appropriate for Messi's memorial to coincide with the formal opening of the remodeled Spotify Camp Nou stadium, which is scheduled for the 2025–26 season, according to Barcelona president Joan Laporta.

The La Liga champions are presently playing in Montjuic's Olympic Stadium, which will serve as their home field while Camp Nou is undergoing renovations.

It has also been suggested in the past that Barca's annual curtain-raiser, the Joan Gamper trophy, may serve as a memorial for Messi.

After his contract with PSG expired in June, Messi gave the idea of returning to Barcelona some thought before signing with the MLS team.