A Spanish journalist's report blew up a high-calibre surprise about the possibility of Argentine Inter Miami star Lionel Messi returning to his former club Barcelona during the winter transfer market in January.
Messi had rejected the idea of returning to Barcelona in the summer, following the end of his contract with Paris Saint-Germain of France, due to the club's financial crises, and opted for a move to Inter Miami.
Messi was recently absent from Inter Miami due to injury, deteriorating the team's results, and his participation in the playoff phase was questioned.
According to Spanish newspaper Sport, if Inter Miami fail to qualify, Messi could be allowed to join Barcelona on loan in January.
"There have been previous examples of MLS clubs doing this in the past, such as David Beckham's move to AC Milan and Thierry Henry's return to Arsenal."
Inter Miami owner Jorge Maas had stated in recent days that he would allow Messi to say goodbye to Barcelona fans, although it seemed that might happen sooner than expected.