Khaberni - The resigned president of FC Barcelona, Spanish Juan Laporta, reveals new backstage details about the attempts to recover Argentine legend Lionel Messi and his departure from the club.
Lionel Messi left Barcelona in 2020 after a crisis over not renewing his contract, and joined the ranks of Paris Saint-Germain football club in a free transfer deal, before later moving to Inter Miami in the US.
A book by Juan Laporta titled "How We Saved Barcelona" was released on Tuesday, explaining the last five years he spent as the president of the club.
Laporta, the current presidential candidate for the upcoming Barcelona elections, spoke about one of the toughest issues he faced, which was Messi's departure, the club's all-time leading scorer.
According to the newspaper "Marca", Laporta said: "When it was time to negotiate the contract renewal, Messi was surrounded by a demanding negotiating team, although his father was more understanding."
He added: "We reached an unconventional solution, a long-term contract, which included a first period as a player at Barcelona, and a second period on loan to one of the American league teams."
He continued: "However, the Spanish league asked us to abandon the idea and required us to sign an agreement to sell a percentage of the television broadcasting rights for 50 years through a fund called CVC."
He went on: "There was also the possibility of his return after his stint with Paris (in 2023), Jorge Messi came to my house, I prepared the contract, sent him the draft, but he never responded to me.
And Jorge Laporta concluded saying: "A week went by, then two weeks, and after a month, he finally came back to my house and told me that they had decided to go to Inter Miami, where he would not be under much pressure."
