The four-time Ballon d'Or winner opened the scoring against River in December's Club World Cup final, as the Blaugrana went on to clinch the trophy with a 3-0 victory.
And the Millonario president has now confirmed that he would love to see Messi jsign for the club he so nearly joined as a teenager.
"Why not think that Messi could one day finish [his career] in River?" the official told Clarin , as he gave details of the emotional post-final encounter he had with the star.
"When the game ended Messi and [Javier] Mascherano came out of the dressing room to chat with us for a while. Leo congratulated me and all of River, in my name.
"His manners are astounding, he is the best player in the world and despite that he is warm, humble, down to earth, friendly.
"The apology he offered the fans I don't know if he did it because he is a River supporter or not, but it is related with the respect he has for Argentine football."
D'Onofrio continued by telling the story of how Messi was on the verge of becoming a River player, but that paperwork issues thwarted his arrival.
"He told me he went to River for a trial, but the problem was he did not control his registration, Newell's did," he said.
"He went back to Rosario to find it, but six months went by and he could not get it, he could not play.
"At that point he went to Barcelona due to custody issues."
Mascherano, who began his career with River, is another whom D'Onofrio believes could be starring in the Monumental stadium in the near future.
"Almost jokingly, I asked him 'When are you coming back to River?' He looked at me with a knowing smile and did not deny anything," he said.
"If I have to interpret that smile, I would dare to say it was something like, 'One day I will go'. Javier knows absolutely everything about River, he is up to date on what happens in the club."
'Messi to join River Plate? Why not!' - D'Onofrio
!['Messi to join River Plate? Why not!' - D'Onofrio]()
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