Lionel Messi's Brother Claims he will NOT Go Back to Barcelona unless 'Joan Laporta is Kicked Out'
- last year
Lionel Messi's brother has claimed that the former Barcelona star will not be returning to the Nou Camp unless club president Joan Laporta is removed.
Messi spent over two decades at the Nou Camp after starting in the academy before financial chaos surrounding the Spanish outfit forced him to leave as a free agent in the summer of 2021.
Upon Messi's departure, Barca who continues to be plagued by financial instability had only recently elected Laporta for his second term as president.
Laporta had promised he would be able to persuade Messi to stay but was unable to get around the financial issues of keeping him at the Nou Camp, forcing the Argentine to reluctantly leave the club in an emotional press conference.
The forward, who recently starred for Argentina to win the World Cup, eventually joined French giants Paris Saint-Germain during the summer and is now starting to find his feet in the French capital after an underwhelming first season.
Messi has been constantly linked with a Nou Camp return since his contract expired, but his brother Matias believes there is zero chance of that unless Laporta can be removed from his role.
Speaking on his son's Twitch channel, Matias said: ''I have a SPORT cutting that says "Messi should return to Barcelona" and I've put underneath it "Hahaha". We are not going back to Barcelona, and if we do, we are going to have a good clearout, kicking out, among others, Joan Laporta who is ungrateful after all that Messi did for Barcelona.
'People [in Barcelona] did not support him. People should have gone out to do a march or something, let Laporta leave and Messi stay. The Catalans are traitors.'
Messi's brother then made an extraordinary claim that Barcelona only became a globally recognized team because of the 35-year-old's contributions to the club where he won 10 La Liga titles and four Champions League trophies among his highlights.
'Barcelona started to become globally recognized because of Messi, before that people only knew Madrid,' he said.
After leaving Barcelona, Messi was linked with many top clubs in Europe including Manchester City, but he reportedly held talks over a shock switch to Inter Milan.
Inter legend Javier Zanetti held talks with his former international team-mate with the vice-president of the Nerazzurri claiming a deal couldn't be done as they did not have the finances to compete with their rivals.
He continued: 'Realistically, we cannot compete with PSG or Premier League clubs, but due to our rapport, we spoke when there was a chance.'
It comes as PSG sporting director Luis Campos confirmed the club is in talks with Messi over a new contract.
Messi is set to be a free agent at the end of the season and has been linked with a move away from the French club in recent months.
Reports had suggested he was set to join Inter Miami in America, while former side Barcelona has always remained interested in taking him back to Spain.
He has not shown any clear desire to leave PSG th
Messi spent over two decades at the Nou Camp after starting in the academy before financial chaos surrounding the Spanish outfit forced him to leave as a free agent in the summer of 2021.
Upon Messi's departure, Barca who continues to be plagued by financial instability had only recently elected Laporta for his second term as president.
Laporta had promised he would be able to persuade Messi to stay but was unable to get around the financial issues of keeping him at the Nou Camp, forcing the Argentine to reluctantly leave the club in an emotional press conference.
The forward, who recently starred for Argentina to win the World Cup, eventually joined French giants Paris Saint-Germain during the summer and is now starting to find his feet in the French capital after an underwhelming first season.
Messi has been constantly linked with a Nou Camp return since his contract expired, but his brother Matias believes there is zero chance of that unless Laporta can be removed from his role.
Speaking on his son's Twitch channel, Matias said: ''I have a SPORT cutting that says "Messi should return to Barcelona" and I've put underneath it "Hahaha". We are not going back to Barcelona, and if we do, we are going to have a good clearout, kicking out, among others, Joan Laporta who is ungrateful after all that Messi did for Barcelona.
'People [in Barcelona] did not support him. People should have gone out to do a march or something, let Laporta leave and Messi stay. The Catalans are traitors.'
Messi's brother then made an extraordinary claim that Barcelona only became a globally recognized team because of the 35-year-old's contributions to the club where he won 10 La Liga titles and four Champions League trophies among his highlights.
'Barcelona started to become globally recognized because of Messi, before that people only knew Madrid,' he said.
After leaving Barcelona, Messi was linked with many top clubs in Europe including Manchester City, but he reportedly held talks over a shock switch to Inter Milan.
Inter legend Javier Zanetti held talks with his former international team-mate with the vice-president of the Nerazzurri claiming a deal couldn't be done as they did not have the finances to compete with their rivals.
He continued: 'Realistically, we cannot compete with PSG or Premier League clubs, but due to our rapport, we spoke when there was a chance.'
It comes as PSG sporting director Luis Campos confirmed the club is in talks with Messi over a new contract.
Messi is set to be a free agent at the end of the season and has been linked with a move away from the French club in recent months.
Reports had suggested he was set to join Inter Miami in America, while former side Barcelona has always remained interested in taking him back to Spain.
He has not shown any clear desire to leave PSG th