Laporta spoke about Messi’s departure from Barcelona and threw a dart full of cynicism where it hurts the most

Despite the passage of time, some people still have a hard time digesting the departure of Lionel Messi from Barcelona to Paris Saint Germain. Despite the desire of the institution and the footballers to renew the bond after the change of leadership, both parties never reached an agreement as a result of the Financial Fair Play, since the Barça entity is going through a delicate financial situation.

In dialogue with The Mon from RAC1, Joan Laporta He referred to this issue again, providing new details about what happened in the negotiations. The president hinted that the Argentine speculated with a possible offer from the powerful French cast.

“I appreciate Messi too much to be angry with him, but there comes a time when there is some disappointment on both sides. They wanted to stay but they also had a lot of pressure due to the offer from PSG. I imagine they knew that if they didn’t sign with Barça they had an offer from PSG. I don’t know for sure, but Everything indicates that they already had a very powerful offer. I may be delusional, but for a moment I had the illusion that Messi said he was going to play for free, although I know that it cannot be asked to anybody. He knew me, I got along well with him, I did everything for his family but compared to what they offered him in Paris … what I hope now is to pay him a proper tribute if he is willing, “said the leader.

President blaugrana He also took the opportunity to clarify that Florentino Pérez, the main leader of the White House, did not have any kind of interference in this decision: “We all wanted to preserve the memory of Leo Messi at Barça, but it was unfeasible. Florentino did not have any weight in this decision, we are not conditioned by anyone, least of all Real Madrid. The president of La Liga offered us a little piece of candy in the form of a CVC, but we still don’t have the document. And if we don’t know the fine print, we can’t commit. The operation is good for La Liga, but we don’t need more debt. We have not closed ourselves to this operation, which could be possible and I think they are working on reforms to redefine it ”.

“We tried, but the information that had come to us from Neymar was not true. They told us that he wanted to leave PSG and that he would not continue, but finally he accepted the renewal proposal. I was not disappointed, the law of supply and demand is like that. His not signing has been good for Barça. It would have generated income for us, but it would not have solved the situation we are suffering now, “he said, making it clear that they sought to repatriate the Brazilian forward.

Barcelona did not start the season in the expected way, losing their two Champions League matches (against Bayern Munich and Benfica -both 3-0-) and being in eighth place in La Liga, which leaves them five behind. the leaders (Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid and Real Sociedad) and out of the qualifying positions for international competitions. Despite rumors of a coach change, Laporta strongly backed Ronald Koeman.

“The president has to analyze the situation and find solutions. And I, after listening to my trusted people, came to the conclusion that I had to act as I did with Rijkaard. You deserve trust. In the first place, because he is a culé who loves Barça. Talking to him you notice it. Second, it is important to note that it is a myth of Barcelona. In addition, it came in a situation of sports and institutional crisis. I needed to know if I trusted this team. Do you trust this team? I asked him. He replied ‘sure, but I need to recover the injured’. I saw a man who wanted to continue yes or yes”, He outlined. And then he added: “I speak with Xavi frequently because we are friends. Also with Pep. I like to know what they think because they know more than I do. I have had one as a player and the other as a coach. People who think what they want, but our coach is Koeman. And we are proud that it is so. Now we are focused on changing the sporting situation, which is not desirable. The season has just started and now we will recover the injured. Dembélé, for example, will return next week. The technical secretary works every day, but at no point did I say that Koeman was not going to continue. It deserves a margin of confidence ”.

On the other hand, Laporta was enthusiastic about the renovations of three of its young stars: “We are in the process of renewing the young people. If it can be, next week you will have good news. The youth contracts were ending soon. Pedri’s continuity is well advanced and hopefully we can announce it next week. Ansu is also doing well. We are also very happy with Gavi, the president of the Spanish Federation called me yesterday to congratulate me. Sergi Roberto, on the other hand, has already lowered the salary. We are restructuring his contract, there are only some fringes to close ”.

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