Barcelona's vice president, Eduard Romeu, has confirmed the club's intention to honour Lionel Messi with a meaningful tribute. However, he has refrained from speculating on the possibility of Messi's return to the team.

Rumours of Messi's potential reunion with Barcelona have persisted since his departure for Paris Saint-Germain in 2021.

Yet, the Argentine icon chose to join Inter Miami during the summer, eschewing a return to his former club.

As the MLS season is scheduled to conclude at the end of the year and Inter Miami has been excluded from the playoffs after the regular season, the notion of Messi making a temporary return to Barcelona has resurfaced.

Nonetheless, this prospect has been dismissed as unfeasible due to Barcelona's ongoing financial difficulties.

Nevertheless, it is highly likely that the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner will receive a tribute in front of the Barcelona fans once Camp Nou reopens, a gesture that Romeu is optimistic will come to fruition.

"The only thing I would like, and the day and time will surely come when the circumstances are favourable, is that we can pay him a great tribute," he told L'Esportiu. "He deserves it and we're really looking forward to it.

"The rest is a matter of speculation; we don't even talk about this subject because we have already talked about it too many times."

Messi may be involved for Argentina when they take on Paraguay and Peru in World Cup qualifying over the next week.