Lionel Messi is so in love with Barcelona that he was willing to make his grand return without anyone knowing.The 2022 World Cup-winning football legend broke the footballing internet on Monday night by posting some simple shots of himself at the Camp Nou on Instagram. The second-most followed person on the app with over half a billion fans, this wasn’t any typical sponsorship post, and it wasn’t particularly good quality either.Sending a love letter to his former club’s fans at the stadium where he became a footballing god, he wrote: “Last night I returned to a place I miss with all my heart. “A place where I was immensely happy, where you all made me feel a thousand times over like the happiest person in the world. “I hope I can return someday, and not just to say goodbye as a player, which I never got to do…”Messi left Barcelona in 2021, bidding a teary farewell to the club he’d spent most of his childhood and his whole adult life as financial mismanagement made his departure a necessity.He joined Paris Saint-Germain for just two seasons, and later Inter Miami where he still features.The 38-year-old has never had a proper goodbye to Barca, with his departure coming during the COVID pandemic.The Camp Nou, his home for 17 seasons, has been under construction for over two years, and still isn’t complete, further complicating a goodbye despite president Joan Laporta regularly backing the idea.It now turns out that this return was a complete shock to the club, with Messi going along without anyone at Barca knowing.His Argentina side are training in Alicante during the international break and multiple reports, including from Cadena SER, say that Messi went along to the Camp Nou in secret during a stop off.Messi made the walk over to his old home in the middle of the night in secret@leoMessiInstagramA proposal took place just before when Messi accidentally photobombed them[/caption]He wandered up to the under-construction stadium with club and international teammate Rodrigo de Paul and also his friend Pepe Costa.The trio left a nearby hotel after midnight and entered spontaneously, asking some security guards if they could walk onto the pitch, a wish that was granted.The information has been backed up by a hilarious video in which a man was about to propose to his partner but their faces suddenly turned to shock when Messi walks past in the background.He captioned the video: “You ask your partner out with a purple bouquet, and Messi appears to make it unforgettable.”Why did Messi keep his return a secret?Many have seen the ad hoc return as actually intentional from Messi, who doesn’t want to influence Barcelona’s elections next year.Incumbent Laporta will be hoping to continue his second run as president, but may not have Messi’s backing having played his part in the No.10’s departure.Messi hasn’t returned to the club, and may not until Laporta is goneGettyLater, in an interview with Barcelona outlet SPORT, Messi spoke about his exit in 2021.“I was left with a strange feeling after leaving because of how everything unfolded,” he said. “I ended up playing my last year without fans because of the pandemic, after being there my whole life. “I didn’t leave the way I imagined and dreamed. I imagined playing my entire career at Barcelona and then coming here like I did. That was my plan and what I wanted. “The farewell was a bit strange, because of the situation and everything. The fans’ affection will always be there because of what we’ve been through. It’s been a long time and so many experiences, so the affection will always be there.”He added: “I’m really looking forward to going back to Barcelona. I miss the city a lot. Messi returned to the Camp Nou without anyone’s knowledge, could this foreshadow future events?Messi bid an emotional farewell to Barca in 2021, and insists he wanted to spend his whole career with the clubGetty“My wife and I, my children, and I have talked about Barcelona, and the idea is to move back there. That’s what we want, and I’m really looking forward to going back to the stadium when it’s finished. “It’s going to be exciting to relive it and remember everything that happened there, even though the stadium will be different. I’m grateful for the constant support, and I just want to say thank you.”