Lionel Messi left Barcelona back in 2021 due to their financial issues. This already left a bad taste in the Argentina captain’s mouth as he had to move to Paris at the last minute with no prior preparation. This summer, Messi wanted to move back to Barcelona and retire there when the time came. However, club president Joan Laporta failed to persuade him for the move. It seems Messi is still unhappy with Laporta over the matter. Reportedly, he ignored Laporta who wanted to take a photo with Messi.
Lionel Messi created history a few days ago when he won his record 8th Ballon d’Or. Players, club officials, and many more attended the gala for the award ceremony. Following the win, Messi indulged a lot of people who wanted to click pictures with the Argentina captain. As per the renowned journalist and author Guillem Balagué, Barcelona President Joan Laporta wanted to click a picture with Messi. However, Messi reportedly only clicked a picture with Ballon d’Or Féminin award winner, Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati.
Apparently, Lionel Messi ignored Laporta and walked away. It seems that things are still bitter between Messi and Laporta. The Argentina captain had to leave Barcelona back in 2021. It never seemed that he wanted to leave the club. Especially considering he told L’Equipe after the Ballon d’Or ceremony that he wanted to retire at Barcelona. Messi said, “I thought about returning to Barca, about my life there, about retiring there as I always wanted, but it wasn’t possible.” His words expressed the love he still has for the Catalan club.
After winning the award, Messi mentioned La Blaugrana in the speech which showed that he still hold Barca in a high place in his heart. He said, “Barcelona I was lucky to be in the best team in the world, the best club. The best team in history. That made it easier to win individual titles… Nobody doubts that Barca was the best in history and it will be almost impossible to see something similar.” However, this also means that Messi is undoubtedly upset over not being able to move back to Barcelona.
Renowned Spanish journalist Gerard Romero reported after the Ballon d’Or that Laporta and Messi meet after the Ballon d’Or gala. He said apparently the two talked about the best possible date for Messi’s tribute match at Camp Nou. However, it stirred up everyone when Messi posted a picture of the report with a caption of his own that said, “You lie. Once again.” It not only showed that he was not pleased with the false reporting, but also indicated his strained relationship with Laporta.
Laporta has said multiple times that Messi would be back to play a tribute game. He even gave a date that the tribute game could be held on the opening day of the renovated Camp Nou. However, Messi is yet to respond on the date of his return to the Spanish City. Messi recently told L’Equipe that his time at Europe has ended. He also said that this was his last Ballon d’Or. Adding this to his relationship with Laporta, even a tribute and farewell match seems far-fetched.
