Barcelona presidential hopeful Victor Font said on Wednesday that Lionel Messi will be the first person he calls if he wins next year's elections.
The Catalan giants are set to hold presidential elections in 2026 and the Spanish businessman is again considered the main rival to challenge current chief, Joan Laporta.
Font, 53, lost to Laporta in the 2021 presidential elections.
"The first call I'll make when we win the elections will be to Leo Messi," Font told El Mundo Deportivo.
"It will be the first phone call I make."
Messi, 38, spent most of his career at Barça before making a hasty exit to Paris Saint-Germain in 2021 due to the Catalan club's financial problems.
The Inter Miami star made a surprise visit to the Camp Nou last week while on international duty with Argentina in Spain and said "I hope one day I can return."
The Argentina captain, whose relationship with Laporta cooled following his departure, also admitted in a recent interview that he didn't leave Barça as he had dreamed of. While Laporta has made it clear that Messi's return to play for Barcelona is "not realistic," Font has not ruled it out.
"Personally, as a Barça fan, I get goosebumps, but obviously this depends on him, and what we shouldn't do is try to use him," he said.
"I think Laporta has done it, and he's done it many times, and I think he's done it wrong; the most blatant example was during the elections."
Laporta said ahead of the 2021 presidential elections that he believed Messi would leave Barça if he didn't win the elections and would guarantee the club's all-time leading scorer would continue.
"That was another example of a broken promise," Font said.
"I believe Messi shouldn't be used, but Messi needs to know that the first thing I will do if I win the elections is pick up the phone and call him.
"We need to embrace Leo Messi and do everything possible to ensure that, as soon as possible, he has the role at Barça that, as he said last week, he wants and that all Barça fans would be thrilled about."
- Transfer rumors, news: AC Milan want Barcelona's Lewandowski
- Barcelona to return to renovated Camp Nou this weekend
Asked if he has contacted Messi or his entourage, Font said: "Our duty is to speak with everyone who can make contributions to the future, and it's important that we understand their intentions. But what I'm saying is also important: we need to know that these are club assets."
Laporta recently said that he plans to erect a statue of Messi at the Camp Nou as part of a tribute he wants to give to the legendary player.
"Having a statue of him doesn't even begin to cover it," Font said.