Posted on November 24, 2021 at 11:00 p.m. by Th.B.
On his return to the presidency of FC Barcelona last March, Joan Laporta was quick to contact Lionel Messi to let him know that he wanted him to hang up as a Barça legend according to Fabrizio Romano.
While he had expressed his desire to leave FC Barcelona through a burofax a few months earlier during the 'era Josep Maria Bartomeu , Lionel Messi would have directly changed his mind when Joan Laporta made his comeback at the helm of Barça. In the wake of his election on March 7, the one who was already in command of FC Barcelona between 2003 and 2010 would have contacted Messi in order to inform him of his determination to keep it and that it even retire in the long term at FC Barcelona.
“I want you to stay at the club. You are going to retire as a Barcelona player ”
“The situation of Leo Messi's contract, at the end of his contract in June 2021, would change thanks to the new president Joan Laporta, former president of Barça who has done great things in the past also thanks to players like Lionel Messi himself but also Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Eto'o, many legends of the club. And then Leo Messi, when he heard that Joan Laporta was joining the club as the new president, was absolutely delighted. He was 100% happy with this Barcelona decision. At the end of February, the first week of March, Joan Laporta was elected the new president of FC Barcelona. Laporta's first message was addressed directly to Lionel Messi himself: “I want you to stay at the club. You are part of the project. You are going to retire as a Barcelona player. So Laporta's message was so strong in public, but also in private. ”confided Fabrizio Romano on the occasion of the Inside The Transfer column for CBS Sports.