Former FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta has revealed that his relationship with club legend Lionel Messi remains strained following the Argentine’s departure from the club in 2021.
Laporta disclosed that Messi appeared to snub him at a Ballon d’Or ceremony in 2023, an encounter he said made him realise their friendship may never return to what it once was.
Messi left his boyhood club in the summer of 2021 after Barcelona’s financial difficulties prevented the renewal of his contract. He subsequently joined Paris Saint-Germain before moving to Inter Miami CF in Major League Soccer.
Speaking to Catalunya Radio, Laporta recounted meeting Messi again two years after his departure, at the prestigious Ballon d’Or ceremony.
“The relationship with Messi isn’t the same as before. There was also a situation at the Ballon d’Or ceremony where I went to say hello to him, and he thought we shouldn’t shake hands. Since then, there has been some rapprochement, and hopefully, this will continue in the future. The relationship is strained, but he’s a Barcelona legend,” Laporta said.
He acknowledged that tensions linger over the manner of Messi’s exit from the Camp Nou, where the forward had spent the majority of his career and established himself as one of the greatest players in the club’s history.
In 2021, Messi was reportedly close to signing a new contract before the deal collapsed due to Barcelona’s financial crisis, forcing his departure. Two years later, he was linked with a potential return to the Spanish giants, but the move did not materialise, leading him to join Inter Miami instead.
Despite the strained ties, Laporta reaffirmed Messi’s status as a Barcelona legend, even as their personal relationship remains tense.
