Messi to Barcelona: from around 10 they admitted that Laporta blocked his return

The possibility of Lionel Messi returning to Barcelona in 2023 returned to the center of the debate after new statements by protagonists and people close to the soccer player. Three years after that pass market, conflicting versions came to light as to why the return of the Argentine captain finally failed

to materialize.

After Xavi Hernández's statements, voices close to Messi also appeared who supported the former coach's version. The journalist of the Chiringuito Cristóbal Soria said that from the player's environment they consider that “the truth is finally beginning to come out” and that “little by little we will know everything” about what happened.

Soria recalled that years before the Rosario had agreed to a strong salary reduction to renew his contract that didn't end up happening.

“

After that didn't happen, a few days later Ferran Torres was signed for 55 million euros,” said

Tiempo later, when there was the possibility of a return to Barcelona, “it was Laporta who threw everything backwards,” said the journalist, supporting Xavi's versions. “Leo did everything that was asked of him to return to Barcelona,” he said.

Laporta's response

Xavi's statements generated a quick reaction from Joan Laporta, president of Barcelona, who denied that the club had blocked the return of the world champion

.

The manager explained that the coach himself was the one who conveyed Messi's desire to return to the club. “In 2023, Xavi told me that Messi wanted to come back and in March I sent the contract to Jorge Messi,”

he said.

According to Laporta, the final decision was due to the context surrounding the possible return. “Jorge Messi came to my house and told me that he would have too much pressure here and had other offers. I told him they were sovereign to decide and he went to Miami,” he

explained.

In addition, the Barça president also indirectly questioned Xavi and defended some management decisions he made during his administration. “When you're president, you have to make very difficult decisions. And I had to make a very difficult decision,” he said.

Xavi's revelation about the frustrated return The

debate was rekindled after Xavi Hernández revealed in an interview with La Vanguardia that Messi's return to Barcelona was practically closed in 2023

.

The former Blaugrana coach explained that he had been in talks for several months with the soccer player and that he had even spoken to the management to finalize the operation.” Leo was signed in. In January 2023 we contacted him and he told me that he is looking forward to returning. We talked until the month of March and I said: 'Okay. When you give me the OK, I'll tell the president because I see him in soccer, '” he said

.

According to his version, the negotiations were proceeding normally and there was even a green light from LaLiga for the signing to take place, but Laporta was the one who stopped everything. “It's the president who throws everything back,” he said, adding: “Leo doesn't come to Barça because the president doesn't want to, not because of LaLiga or because Jorge Messi asks for more money, that's a lie. It's with his people who tell him no, that he can't afford it, that he has all the power and that Messi is going to mismanage that power.”

“Laporta told me verbatim that if I came back, Leo would fight him and that he couldn't afford it,” Xavi confessed. In turn, he also revealed that Messi himself stopped talking to him because of the club's refusal: "And then, all of a sudden, Leo stopped picking up my phone because on the other hand they had told him it couldn't be done

.”

The former midfielder also revealed that the return was intended as a symbolic closing for the Argentinian's career at the club. “We were going to do a 'Last Dance' like Michael Jordan's. Everything was ready,” he concluded.