Lionel Messi reveals he was hurt by Laporta's statements

Lionel Messi is an unhappy man these days, and that might explain why he’s yet to take to the skies at his new club. The Argentine is sad at how things turned out in Barcelona, and he recently lashed out at the Barcelona president Joan Laporta for his statements as it concerns him.

The great Pele, Diego Maradona or Johan Cryuff have few players that measure up to their status. Lionel Messi is one of the few players that merits this accolade. He is arguably the best player the planet has seen.

No one envisaged Lionel Messi ever donning a club jersey besides Barcelona. The Argentine, after more than two decades at Barcelona, shocked the world when he joined PSG in the summer.

Reflecting on the turn of events over the summer, the six-time Balon d’Or winner feels he has been cut deep by the statements of Joan Laporta and has lashed out at him.

The mess that sent Messi packing

Barcelona is a club trying to wangle its way out of a financial mess. The mess created by Josep Bartomeu where players were on humongous salaries and contracts given without cause to due financial process. In a nutshell, Bartomeu’s dealings put Barcelona in deep mire.

Joan Laporta was elected president in March and had the unenviable task of cleaning out the Augean stable. Part of his assignment was ensuring that the club’s greatest footballer remained at the club. It was an assignment that Laporta failed to accomplish, thanks to Barca’s financial situation and the La Liga financial rules. 

While Lionel Messi now plays for PSG, the furore of his departure continues to rage on.

The Argentine superstar has condemned statements made by Joan Laporta concerning him. 

Messi condemns Laporta’s remarks

When questioned by RAC1 in October about PSG’s signing of Lionel Messi for free, Laporta said he had hoped that Messi would have changed his mind and signed for free. Laporta went on to say that he would have liked Messi to play for free as it is within the La Liga rules, but it was not in his place to offer that to a player of Messi’s stature.

The statement turned out to cut Messi deep, and he reacted.

Messi told Sport that he did everything possible to remain at Barcelona. According to him, at no time did anyone ask him to play for free. He said he willingly agreed to cut his salary by half when asked as he and his family wanted to remain in Barcelona.

He condemned Laporta’s statement, calling it inappropriate.

Messi confessed that he has not been in touch with Laporta since he left the club. He has, however, not ruled out the chance of returning to Barcelona in the future. The four-time Champions League winner hopes to return to the club someday to contribute to its success.