A few months ago, all the fans of the first game in the world woke up to a surprise that shook the entire sports community after the announcement of the departure of the historical star Lionel Messi from the ranks of Barcelona and his joining the Paris Saint-Germain team.
And there were many reports that said that the club’s president, Laporta, was the one who pushed the historic scorer of the Catalan team to leave after he was asked to play for free.
For his part, Barcelona President Joan Laporta denied all rumors about his request from Argentine Lionel Messi, to play for the Catalan team for free.
In this context, Laporta spoke to the Catalan newspaper “Sport”, saying: “I was happy that Messi won the Ballon d’Or because he deserved it, and proud because he won it after his wonderful season with Barcelona.”
Regarding Leo’s departure to Barcelona, he said: “We did everything we could to keep him, we agreed on everything, but the League did not accept the terms of the contract.”
Laporta denied the rumors about asking Messi to play for free, and explained: “I do not know the possibility of that, but I did not ask him to stay with Barcelona without pay.”
He said, “It is a step that must come from the player himself, and not from me, Messi is the best player in the world, and we knew that he had some offers.”
He explained: “Some of my statements have been distorted or misunderstood. Our relationship with Messi must remain good. He was the best player in the club’s history, and one of the best players in the world, if not the best.”
He ended his speech by saying: “I appreciate Messi’s position, he extended his hand to help, I hope one day he will return to Barcelona, if he wants to be a technical secretary, as he said.”