Lionel Messi's hometown dreams of star's return

Lionel Messi

A mural of a young Lionel Messi in a Newell's Old Boys jersey, tiny and barefoot with a soccer ball in front of him, inspires hundreds of young people at the Argentine club's youth school to dream of succeeding like their hometown hero. Messi's surprise decision to leave Barcelona earlier this week has sparked unlikely dreams in residents of Rosario, the city where he was born, that he would return to play with the local team, Newell's Old Boys.

Hundreds of Newell's fans formed a noisy and colourful caravan of vehicles on Thursday that went from Rosario's - Marcelo Bielsa - stadium to its Flag Monument, the symbol of this city. Newell's fans know they don't have the millions to offer the superstar that the owners of European clubs Manchester City, PSG or Inter Milan do.

"Our competition with the other clubs is not economic or sporting, what we offer Messi is a chance to reencounter with the amateur roots of his training and let him do it in his home city," said fan Roberto Mensi. "We know this may not be the moment for this to happen, but we want to show that the door is open for Leo to come back. People have a lot of affection for him."

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