Barcelona president Joan Laporta has revealed his desire to sign back Lionel Messi, who left the club to join Paris Saint-Germain last year, after the expiration of his contract.

“It is an aspiration that I have as president and I would like it to happen, [as] I have been jointly responsible for that end which I consider provisional,” said Laporta of the 35-year-old who left Barcelona to join PSG after 21 years at the Camp Nou.

“Messi’s time at Barcelona didn’t end the way we all wanted it to. It ended very much conditioned by economic reasons and we have a moral debt.

“In that sense, we would like the end of his career to be in a Barcelona shirt and applauded at all grounds wherever he goes.”

Both Xavi and Joan Laporta have now been publicly backed Leo Messi’s potential comeback.

“I would like Messi’s time at Barcelona not to have ended,” Xavi has told the media.

“I think he deserves a second stage here at Barca. I wish so. If the question is whether I would like him to come back, the answer is a resounding yes.”