FC Barcelona: Well, there it is. Lionel Messi has made up his mind about his future. Probably a lot earlier than any of us were expecting. After Jorge Messi met Joan Laporta, it felt as though a return to FC Barcelona for Leo was just a matter of time. But, it did not take long for everything to change. In a matter of 24 hours, Messi announced he would be signing a contract with Inter Miami. FC Barcelona then put out a statement where they addressed Messi’s decision to join the MLS side. Fans were fuming over the statement as they thought it was a PR move and was in bad taste.
The “disrespectful” statement Barcelona issued in response to Lionel Messi’s announcement of his transfer to Inter Miami has drawn criticism. When his PSG contract expires in the summer, Messi, 35, will leave the club, and Barca was in talks to bring the Argentine back.
However, their financial difficulties and Messi’s worries about returning to the spotlight prevented the move, forcing the club legend to settle on America as his final destination.
FC Barcelona’s statement
In a statement shared by the club, FC Barcelona said, ‘On Monday, June 5, Jorge Messi, the player’s father and representative, informed Club President Joan Laporta of the player’s decision to join Inter Miami, despite having been presented with a proposal from Barça, in consideration of the desire of both FC Barcelona and Lionel Messi for him to once again wear blaugrana.’
The statement continued, ‘President Laporta understood and respected Messi’s decision to want to compete in a league with fewer demands, further away from the spotlight and the pressure he has been subject to in recent years. Both Joan Laporta and Jorge Messi also agreed to work together to promote a proper tribute from Barça fans to honor a footballer who has been, is, and always will be beloved by Barça.’
Fans react to FC Barcelona’s statement
A lot of fans online have shared their displeasure at reading the statement shared by FC Barcelona. One fan said, ‘That Barcelona statement was so unnecessary and disrespectful. This was not necessary to tweet.’
Another one added, ‘Clearly a PR move by you admin, it’s sad because this is my own club as well lmao but nah you guys should not have made this post literally just trying to make us look good yet again when we aren’t in the right.’
One more fan raged, ‘This is low from Barcelona. Considering they are talking about their best player in club history. Don’t patronise his decision. He can do what he wants.’
Lionel Messi’s words
Speaking to Diario Sport and Mundo Deportivo, Lionel Messi spoke about why he decided to move to Inter Miami and not join FC Barcelona. Leo said, ‘I’ve been supporting Barca during the year. I’m a fan. I spoke to (manager) Xavi a lot, we discussed and we always had frequent exchanges.’
Messi continued, ‘I heard reports of La Liga giving the green light but the truth is that many, really many things were still missing in order to make my return to Barca happen. “I didn’t want to be responsible for them to sell players or reduce salaries. I was tired.’
Messi did reiterate his desire to return to the Blaugrana but decided that he wanted to be in control of his future this time. He said, ‘I really wanted to return to Barça, I had that dream. But after what happened two years ago, I did not want to be in the same situation again, leaving my future in the hands of someone else.’
Leo said, ‘After winning the World Cup and not being able to go to Barca, it’s time to go to MLS to live football in a different way and enjoy my day to day life more. Obviously with the same responsibility and desire to win, and to do things well, but with more calm.’
Will Messi ever head back to FC Barcelona?
Even though Messi has decided not to join FC Barcelona, he still reaffirmed that he would like to be back at the club again. He said, ‘I’d love to be close to Barcelona. I will live in Barcelona again, it’s already decided. I hope to help the club one day, because it’s the club I love. I wanna thank the Barça fans for all their support. And yes, I’d love to be again here… definitely.’
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