Johnny Marr has put an end to speculation about a reunion of The Smiths

Famed English rocker Morrissey has claimed that his former bandmate Johnny Marr "ignored a lucrative offer" to reunite The Smiths for a 2025 world tour.

Formed in Manchester in 1982, the band released four albums that were considered by many to redefine British guitar music before breaking up in 1987 amid much controversy.

A statement on Morrissey's website said the singer had accepted an offer from AEG Entertainment Group to tour The Smiths in 2025, but that "Mar ignored the offer," the Guardian reports. The guitarist has not commented on the matter, but has dismissed the suggestion that The Smiths would reunite after rumors of an Oasis reunion surfaced. He did so alongside posting a picture of leader Nigel Farage, alluding to the political views of Morrissey, who some have accused of being right-wing.

Fans have longed for a reunion for decades, and rumors of a possible reconciliation between Morrissey and Marr have often sparked exciting speculation.

However, the two musicians have had a rocky relationship ever since Mar left the band a few weeks before the release of The Smiths' last album in 1987, citing Morrissey's lack of flexibility. The singer was equally frustrated and annoyed that Mar was playing with other groups.

That rift has deepened in recent years, and their political preferences have allegedly added to the enmity. In his 2016 autobiography, Mar wrote about occasional meetings with Morrissey after The Smiths broke up and claimed that there was a real possibility of a reunion in 2008, but the singer rejected the idea.

In the same year, he told Sky News that he believed Morrissey's views were similar to Farage's on Brexit, before announcing in 2019 that the similarity between them would lead to any Smiths reunion featuring "Nigel Farage on guitar".

A year after criticizing The Simpsons in 2021 for basing a carnivorous, xenophobic character on him, Morrissey published an open letter to Mar, urging him to stop using his name as "clickbait" and accusing him of all the troubles of this world.

According to the latest statement from Morrissey, who rarely speaks to the media, the concert promoter "made a lucrative offer to both Morrissey and Maro for a world tour under the name 'The Smiths' during 2025".

"Morrissy said Yes to the offer; Mar ignored the offer," the statement read, under a picture of the pair from when they played together in The Smiths.

Their songwriting partnership made their band one of the most important during the 80s. Both went on to have successful solo careers, with Mar also playing with a wide range of artists including Billy Bragg, Beck, Crowded House, Oasis, Pet Shop Boys and Girls Aloud.

The remaining two members of the group, Mike Joyce and Andy Rourke, later sued the two over copyright.