‘Messi has not played his last game for Barcelona’
FT Desk
- Updated: 24 Jul 2022 13:54 BST
- 3 min read
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has suggested that he plans to bring Lionel Messi back to the club before the end of his playing career.
Messi completed a shock Free Transfer to PSG last summer after he was unable to sign a new contract with Barcelona.
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The Argentine legend broke virtually every record during over 20 years at Camp Nou, scoring an incredible 672 goals in 778 games.
But Barcelona were unable to sign him to a new deal – mainly for financial reasons - leading to an infamous farewell press conference in which Messi broke down and cried.
Ever since, Messi has been repeatedly linked with a return to Barcelona and this is something Laporta has now hinted at.
What did Laporta say?
"Messi has been everything, for Barça he has possibly been the best player in history, the most efficient, only comparable to Johan Cruyff in the history of Barça," Laporta told ESPN.
"But it had to happen one day, we had to make a decision as a consequence of the legacy [financial trouble] we had received [from predecessor Josep Maria Bartomeu].
"The institution is above players and coaches, but I think, I wish, that the Messi chapter is not over yet at Barça and I think our responsibility is to ensure that this open chapter, which has not yet been closed, has a good moment in which it can be done as it should have been done and, in addition, has a much more splendid ending than it had.
"As the president of Barça, I think I did what I had to do. But on a personal level and also as president, I think I owe him."
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Messi endured a difficult first season in Paris, scoring just four Ligue 1 goals all campaign and performing poorly as PSG were dumped out of the Champions League – capitulating from 2-0 up on aggregate to lose 3-2 to Real Madrid in the last-16.
