Post Lionel Messi Era Starts at Barcelona: President Joan Laporta Claims He Don’t Want to Give False Hope

Joan Laporta further said a new era starts at Barcelona with Messi leaving the club with an extraordinary legacy.

New Delhi: FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta claims he doesn’t want to give any false hope to anyone regarding any chance of re-negotiating any deal with Lionel Messi. Barcelona on Thursday announced that the contract negotiation with Messi has come to an end. Laporta said that. Messi, who is arguably the greatest player to ever play the game, wanted to stay at Barcelona but the La Liga Financial Fair Play didn’t allow them to offer him a new contract.

“Leo wanted to stay at Barca. We wanted him to stay.

“I want to thank everyone that has been in the negotiations. There were lots of aspects that needed to be negotiated. He is the best player in the world and has other offers, of course. After all of this process, there comes a moment where you have to say ‘enough’. You have to analyse it and look at the numbers,” Laporta said in the press conference.

The club president further said that Barcelone have to abide by the rules imposed by La Liga but according to him Messi deserved everything.

“In La Liga, we have to abide by the rules. We think they could be more flexible, but that is not an excuse. We couldn’t abide by it.

“Leo deserves everything. He has proven that he loves Barca. He has his roots in Barcelona. I’m sad but I’m convinced we have done the best for the interests of Barcelona,” he added.

Laporta further said a new era starts at Barcelona with Messi leaving the club with an extraordinary legacy.

Laporta added: “Leo’s legacy is excellent, he has made history. He is the player with the most success in the history of the club. I hope we can overcome this situation. A new era starts now. There will be before and after Leo, as there was with other great players in the history of Barca.”

❝ .❞

— @JoanLaportaFCB pic.twitter.com/g7eVNJLin1

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) August 6, 2021

The 59-year-old further shed the light on the contract negotiations that held with the former Barcelona captain and said he doesn’t want to generate any false hope from here on.

“I don’t want to generate false hope.

“During the course of negotiations, we know that the player has had other offers. There was a time limit.

“If fair play continues to be rigid, the player needs some time to see what he is going to do and look at other options.

“We have been at it for two months and have gone through different stages. The first agreement was two years. Then we agreed a five-year contract.

“We were all thinking of two years and, if he wanted more, we could sit and negotiate. We wanted the era of post-Messi to start in two years, but we have had to bring that forward,” Laporta added.

Laporta further insisted that Messi wanted to stay and he is not happy with the current situation.

He added: “Leo wanted to stay, so he is not happy. For him right now, it is a situation where he has to confront reality that can’t be changed. He knows that I wish him the best wherever he goes. Barca is his home.

“I wanted to be here with Leo today, but we have to live in the real world. I like to dream, but this is the reality of what has happened. Right now, it is not easy.”