Barcelona president Joan Laporta has opened up on the decision to let Lionel Messi leave in 2021. He recently had his say while speaking to the press, and fans have been reacting.
According to him, the move was a necessity for the club’s future, but it does not change the fact that Barcelona will continue to be Messi‘s home.
Laporta added that he is eager to ensure that Lionel’s connection to Barcelona remains intact.
His words, “I did what I had to do. Leo was nearing the end of his career and we needed to build a new team. Would I have liked to build the new team with Leo’s help? Yes. We tried, but it wasn’t to be.
He is a key player of his generation: Kubala, Cruyff and Messi. He deserves a statue and a tribute match. Barça is his home. The relationship in the future and the immediate present will be as Leo wants and as Barça wants. At some point, interests will converge again.”
On the Negreira case, “No, that’s more of an institutional smear campaign that, fortunately, hasn’t been successful. There are interests at play coming from Madrid.
I’ve always felt that we have to be far superior, because the referees don’t favour us. Here, it seems they always help Madrid. They’ve got ‘Barcelonitis’ – it’s obvious.”
WOW.
Futbol Club Barcelona is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football.
Founded in 1899 by a group of Swiss, Catalan, German, and English footballers led by Joan Gamper, the club has become a symbol of Catalan culture and Catalanism, hence the motto “Més que un club” (“More than a club”). Unlike many other football clubs, the supporters own and operate Barcelona. It is the third-most valuable sports team in the world, worth $5.51 billion, and the world’s fourth richest football club in terms of revenue, with an annual turnover of €582.1 million.
The official Barcelona anthem is the “Cant del Barça”, written by Jaume Picas and Josep Maria Espinàs. Barcelona traditionally play in dark shades of blue and garnet stripes, hence nicknamed Blaugrana.
In March 2021, Lionel Messi overtook Xavi’s record of 767 games played for the club, and presently has made 778 official appearances in all competitions, while also holding the record for the most appearances in La Liga matches for Barcelona, with 520.
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