Lionel Messi has spoken again from Argentina, and his words have caused a real earthquake in Barcelona. The Rosario star, always cautious with everything related to the club of his life, has revealed unknown details about his departure. What is most surprising is the harshness with which he has referred to Joan Laporta.
The blaugrana president had publicly insisted that Messi's departure was an inevitable episode. However, the footballer himself has denied that version, pointing out that there were unkept promises that changed the course of his story at Camp Nou. Everything suggests that those wounds remain open.
Messi with Barça | FCB
The promise that was never kept
According to what Messi has explained to his closest circle, Laporta assured him that he was the only untouchable. In the midst of a financial crisis, when the club needed to reduce its wage bill, he was told that everything possible would be done to keep him. He even came to believe that all that was needed was to sign the contract to secure his continuity.
However, the reality was very different. Barça couldn't register him due to LaLiga's salary cap, but also because Laporta changed his stance. According to Messi, Gerard Piqué's opinion influenced that change, as he convinced the president that keeping the Argentine was unsustainable.
The final decision was a devastating blow for the player, who never imagined that the president's promise would come to nothing. That betrayal is what still weighs on the relationship between the two.
Messi with Barça | @FCBarcelona_es
Piqué, the other protagonist
Messi hasn't hidden that his friendship with Piqué was destroyed after that episode. The center-back, who at that time had very strong influence in the offices, told Laporta that renewing Leo meant mortgaging the club's financial future. That advice was key in the final decision.
The Argentine felt betrayed, considering that Piqué acted out of personal interests and not for the collective good. Since then, the relationship between the two is practically nonexistent. The same is true with Laporta, with whom he hasn't had a close bond again.
For Messi's circle, the outcome was written from the moment the president backed down. That wound remains open, even though publicly there is always an attempt to soften it.
Messi at Barça | @FCBarcelona
Laporta and the closed door
Barça fans dreamed of Messi's return in 2023, when he left PSG. But the Argentine made it clear that he wasn't going to return while Joan Laporta was in office. He believes that he can't trust someone who already let him down at the most important moment of his career.
The player himself chose to continue his path at Inter Miami, definitively closing the blaugrana chapter. Since then, the bond between the Argentine and the club has been kept only at an emotional level with the fans, but not with the board.
In private, Messi has reiterated that his return is impossible under Laporta's presidency. Although tributes will come in the future, it won't be with him as the top leader.
Leo Messi | @leomessi
Messi has confessed in Argentina what many suspected: there was never a real desire to keep him. Laporta promised him that he was the only player they counted on, but in the end he broke his word. Piqué, in the background, convinced the president that his continuity was impossible.
The conclusion is clear: as long as Laporta remains in charge, Messi won't return to Barça. His story with the club is already written, and any attempt at reconciliation will be blocked by a wound that still bleeds.
