Joan Laporta, who will officially return to the post of Barcelona president on July 1, has reflected on Lionel Messi’s departure in an interview with El Pais.
Speaking about that difficult decision, he said it was the end of an era and that the Catalans needed a new team.
“I did what I had to do. Leo was at the end of his career and a new team had to be built. Would I have wanted to build the new team with Leo’s help? Yes. That was attempted, but it didn’t work.”
Laporta admitted that Messi’s presence would have made the transition easier for the club, but stressed that it was necessary to think about the future.
He underlined that the restructuring of the team was necessary to remain competitive at the highest levels, despite the emotional weight of the departure of an icon like Messi.
Otherwise, Lionel Messi’s camp believes that Laporta betrayed them, a statement that was also supported by Xavi Hernandez, who also revealed that the president rejected the Argentine’s return in 2023.
