1998, close...
It doesn't matter how many years you 'support' the club if you fail the most basic test of all: whether you put club above player or player above club
Who says I'm putting player above club? It's not like Messi was Messi without Barcelona. Even though, as good as he was, a club would have surely taken him eventually and paid for that hormone treatment. We just got lucky to have him. Just like we got lucky to hit the jackpot with Guardiola and La Masia golden generation.
As for his current status. He doesn't seem to be finished. If Lapoarta really wants to make amends(even though I doubt it) he can't bring him just to be a lucky charm or some mascot. Messi would not stand for that and rightly so, he is better than most of the players in La Liga right now.
Discussions about how to integrate him are on Xavi. If he deems it's better not to bring him in because he fucks up our tactics then fair enough. But let's not act as if he is a finished player, because he is not.