The conversation was what it was, unless they change their version.
Laporta confidently states he has no fear of Leo or Jorge Messi speaking publicly, claiming they would corroborate his version of failed negotiations. Xavi alleged Laporta deliberately sabotaged Messi's return despite LaLiga approval, accusing him of avoiding conflict rather than financial constraints.
- Laporta claims he has no fear of Leo or Jorge Messi speaking publicly about the failed return
- Xavi alleged Laporta sabotaged the deal despite LaLiga approval to avoid conflict
- Historical records suggest LaLiga did approve the Messi deal before Laporta reversed course
- The dispute is central to Barcelona's presidential election campaign
Former Barcelona president Laporta dismisses Xavi's claims that he blocked Messi's return, insisting his version aligns with the Messi family's account while campaigning for re-election.
Joan Laporta is running for Barcelona's presidency again, and he's not worried about what Lionel Messi might say. When asked directly on the radio program El Partidazo de COPE whether he feared the player or his father Jorge speaking publicly about the failed return to the club, Laporta answered without hesitation: absolutely not.
The question had become urgent because Xavi Hernández, Barcelona's former coach, had just given an interview to La Vanguardia laying out a specific accusation. Messi, Xavi said, had been signed. The deal was done. LaLiga had approved it. But Laporta pulled the plug at the last moment—not because of money, but because he didn't want a confrontation. "The president started negotiating the contract with Leo's father and we had the green light from LaLiga," Xavi explained, "but it's the president who threw it all away."
Laporta's response was to lean hard on his confidence in the Messi family. When pressed by journalist Juanma Castaño about whether Jorge Messi would tell the same story, Laporta said he was convinced he would. "The conversation was what it was," he said, "unless they change their version. But I don't think they'll change it because Jorge and I have always understood each other." He framed the whole thing as a distraction from what mattered—the upcoming election for club president and board members.
Yet the historical record complicates Laporta's certainty. Multiple reports from the time of the negotiations contradict his account. LaLiga did apparently give approval for Messi's return. The sequence of events that Xavi described—negotiations advancing, regulatory clearance granted, then a sudden reversal—appears to be what actually happened. Laporta's claim that the Messi family would back his version sits uneasily against what was documented at the time.
Laporta also addressed Xavi's role in the controversy, saying he still respected the former coach but believed he had been used. The person doing the using, Laporta suggested, was Víctor Font, a rival in the presidential race. "What bothers me most," Laporta said, "is that the person who used him is trying to divide Barcelona's supporters and debase these elections." He was trying to move the conversation away from Messi and back to the campaign itself.
But that may not be possible. In Barcelona's fractious political moment, the question of why Messi didn't return—whether it was financial impossibility, as Laporta has long maintained, or a deliberate choice to avoid conflict, as Xavi now claims—cuts to the heart of how the club's leadership is judged. Laporta's confidence that the Messi family would vindicate him is a bet. The ballot box, he said, would tell the truth. But so would Jorge Messi, if he chose to speak.
Notable Quotes
The conversation was what it was, unless they change their version. But I don't think they'll change it because Jorge and I have always understood each other.— Joan Laporta, on whether the Messi family would corroborate his account
The president started negotiating the contract with Leo's father and we had the green light from LaLiga but it's the president who threw it all away.— Xavi Hernández, describing the failed Messi return
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why is Laporta so certain the Messi family would back his version if they haven't said anything publicly?
Because he's betting that a private conversation with Jorge Messi years ago established a shared understanding. He's saying they were aligned then, so they'd be aligned now if asked.
But Xavi's account is very specific—LaLiga approval, then Laporta reversing it. That's not vague.
No, it's concrete. And that's the problem for Laporta. He's claiming confidence in a private memory while the public record from that time suggests something closer to what Xavi described.
So why invoke the Messi family at all if he's not sure?
Because in Barcelona politics, the Messi family's credibility is enormous. If he can claim they'd back him, it's a shield. If they contradict him later, he looks foolish. But right now, silence lets him use their name.
Is he trying to keep them out of the campaign?
Exactly. He says Xavi's comments don't matter, that the election is about other things. He's trying to make the Messi question disappear before it becomes a referendum on his judgment.