Argentina's 1978 World Cup hero Mario Kempes has voiced his opposition to Lionel Messi potentially rejoining FC Barcelona this summer.
Messi becomes a free agent on June 30 when his contract at Paris Saint Germain expires. If it were up to Kempes, however, who like Messi in Qatar last year led the Albiceleste to glory in football's premier international tournament, his compatriot would stay put in the French capital and not entertain a return to his first professional club.
"I don't think it's healthy for him to return to Barcelona," Kempes explained to ESPN. "It would be better [to stay] in France, so that he arrives calmly to the next World Cup. He should stay there. Barcelona's objectives are different, they are still rebuilding themselves after his departure. There are many problems."
Kempes, who was known as 'The Matador' in his playing days, confessed that he was "being selfish and thinking about the Argentine national team" in his demand for Messi to stay where he is.
"For physical and mental peace of mind, he is more likely to arrive to the national team fresher in France than in Barcelona," Kempes claimed.
With Messi being whistled by certain sections of the Parc des Princes crowd since PSG's latest premature exit from the Champions League, Kempes attempted to blame this on Argentina beating France in the most recent World Cup final.
"What happens is that he is playing in France: a country that played the final against Argentina, who beat them, and Messi was a [leading] figure.
"What happens is that it hurts them to see the best player in the world in their team and that he does not perform as he did in Qatar."
Joining from FC Barcelona on a free in 2021, Messi's time in Paris has not been a total disaster and is likely to yield back-to-back Ligue 1 titles given PSG's current eight-point lead at the French top flight summit with six games to spare.
In Catalonia, however, the seven-time Ballon d'Or holder would return to widespread adulation he now receives in his homeland, after finally emerging out of the shadow of World Cup icons such as Kempes and Diego Maradona.