Joan Laporta has confirmed that Barcelona will not re-sign Lionel Messi because the current team dynamics are working well.
In an interview with Catalan outlet RAC1, Joan Laporta spoke on various topics, including the possibility of re-signing Lionel Messi. And the Barcelona president has ruled out bringing Messi back to Camp Nou, insisting that the symbiosis of the current first team is working well.
Lionel Messi is unquestionably Barcelona’s greatest ever player, having created a legacy that should stand the test of time. The Argentine wizard spent nearly two decades in Barcelona, amassing a staggering record of 672 goals and 303 assists in 778 appearances. But Messi’s stint with the Blaugrana shockingly ended last summer when his contract ran out.
With Barcelona unable to hand him a new deal, Messi moved to Paris Saint-Germain, where he has struggled to scale the heights of his stint with the Catalan giants. While the 34-year-old has shown his creative instincts with a team-high 11 assists in 26 appearances across all competitions, he has scored only two goals in Ligue 1.
Messi reached the lowest ebb of his professional career earlier this month when he was at the receiving end of jeers from PSG fans following Les Parisiens’ ouster from the UEFA Champions League at the hands of Real Madrid. That led to rumours that Messi could leave PSG, possibly to return to Barcelona.
Joan Laporta has now set the record straight in an interview with RAC1. The Barcelona president has insisted that the Messi chapter is closed for the Blaugrana, as the club is building a new team whose “symbiosis” is working.
Laporta said, “I’ve received no message from Messi or his camp over a possibility of returning to Barcelona. As of today, we are not going to be raising this issue. I no longer have a fluid communication with Messi like I did before he left. His departure almost made me feel more bad for personal and family reasons rather than just strictly sporting ones.”
“We’re not considering [Messi’s return]. We are building a new team, with a mix of young players and experience – the symbiosis is working. But Leo is Leo and he’ll always be a winner. For me it sure wasn’t easy [for him to go], but, as it happened, I thought about the club [finances], I couldn’t put it at more risk. I think we did what we had to do.”
The initial rumours were swiftly quashed by further speculation pointing towards Messi looking to honour his PSG contract by staying put at Parc des Princes for another year. With Laporta also confirming the same in his latest interview, it looks like Messi will not play for Barcelona again.
