The president of Barcelona, Joan Laporta, said that his decision to move Lionel Messi five years ago is confirmed by the results when he took the second position. Laporta, who was recently elected to the fourth position, campaigned in 2021 on the basis that he would guarantee the continuation of Messi, but in August of that year, he told the Argentinian that he did not have a contract with him.
Laporta has explained his decision in many ways, and most recently Messi’s former manager and teammate, Xavi Hernandez, said he deliberately sabotaged his comeback two years later. Speaking in an interview with El Pais (via MD), Laporta explained that he felt vindicated.
“I had to make a decision, and I think I made the right one; the results speak for themselves. We managed to change the finances of the team, we created a competitive team, and it was time for a continuous change. Leo was about to finish his career, and we needed to build a new team. I would like to build a new team with Leo in the future, but we failed? Yes, we failed.
Messi has said he wants to return to the Camp Nou at some point, but it looks like he won’t be able to do so while Laporta is in charge.
“The future relationship will be whatever Leo wants and whatever Barca wants. At some point, their interests will meet again. Messi is an icon of production: Kubala, Cruyff, and Messi. He deserves a statue and a game to prove it. Barca is his home.”
Laporta administration and the Negreira case
Another thing that was discussed was when Laporta was in charge, as Real Madrid and Barcelona both said they were disadvantaged by the Spanish referees.
“I always felt that we should be higher, because the referees don’t favor us. Here it seems that they always help Real Madrid. They have a Barcelona bias, it’s obvious.”
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In the case of Real Madrid, they continue to refer to the ongoing allegations of sports corruption that Barcelona is defending, the so-called ‘Negreira case’. Laporta has always maintained that it is baseless.
“More than an institutional campaign, fortunately, which did not succeed. It is driven by interests from Madrid. Every time the case is about to be closed, they present incomplete evidence. But the judge, in order to show that he handled the trial properly, is forced to extend the investigation for another six months.”
The case centers on payments of €7-8m to former Referee Committee Vice President Jose Maria Enrique Negreira over 17 years.
“They are trying to lie that the referees favor Barca over Real Madrid, and with that, they are trying to discredit the best period in the club’s history, which started with Rijkaard and continued with Guardiola. Now they are criticizing us for hiring a former vice president, while they had a committee of referees who were connected to us when they hired a Madrid company. The president’s son was working.
Laporta undermines the campaign of Victor Font
In the election earlier this month, Laporta did not hold back from the campaign run by his rival Victor Font.
“It was a beating, and they deserved it. They played dirty. They filed a complaint full of lies and made statements that planted doubts, like they were going to sign Haaland.”
Laporta talks about the lawsuit he filed against several of his board members, accusing them of money laundering and fraud. The appeal was dismissed, but Font denied any link to the plaintiff.
