Shocking revelation about Messi and Barca

Lionel Messi has clearly expressed his opinion about Barcelona’s president, Joan Laporta, amid rumors that the Catalan club has reached out to the legend.

Last September, Spanish media revealed that President Joan Laporta was making efforts to “bridge the gap” with Lionel Messi, who left Barcelona in the summer of 2021 after the club was unable to register a new contract due to financial difficulties. Since then, the relationship between Messi and his former club has been considered “seriously fractured,” yet Laporta still hopes to bring the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner back, as he prepares for the upcoming presidential election.

According to Jordi Mestre (former vice president in charge of sports at Barcelona), Messi’s stance on “healing old wounds” is very clear.

He shared on the podcast Sports360: “I know from several sources that Leo Messi and his family are very angry with Laporta. Extremely angry. The story about fixing everything with a barbecue — we’ve seen how that turned out: nothing happened.”

Mestre believes Barcelona needs to take a truly significant action to honor the World Cup champion, who has fully dedicated himself to the club and brought enormous value both in reputation and financially: “Whatever we do for Leo Messi will never be enough. Yes, he earned a high salary, but he deserved it. Messi helped the club generate a lot of money, and it’s also because of him that top world stars want to play here.”

Mestre added: “I think Barca should do something historic, something that would immortalize Messi’s name. Maybe naming a stand ‘Leo Messi’ for example.”

As the greatest player in Barca’s history, holding records for appearances, goals, and assists, Messi’s quiet departure in 2021 left a significant mark on his relationship with the club. He moved to PSG after Barcelona could not sign a new contract due to La Liga’s financial rules.

Since then, Messi has maintained a cold relationship with Laporta — who once said Messi could have stayed if he agreed to play for free, a statement the Argentine superstar found disrespectful:

“There was no request for me to play without pay. They only asked me to reduce my salary by 50%, and I agreed without hesitation. My family and I wanted to continue staying at Barcelona. No one asked me to play for free, but the president’s words were inappropriate. They hurt me because I don’t think it was necessary to say that. It’s like shifting blame onto others, causing the public to misunderstand me, which I don’t deserve,” Messi told Sport (cited by ESPN).

For Laporta, resolving the conflict with Messi is not only symbolic but could also strengthen his reputation and gain more support from fans ahead of the upcoming Barcelona presidential election.

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