Barcelona President Confirms ‘Conversations’ With Lionel Messi’s Family Over Camp Nou Tribute

Lionel Messi made history during 17 seasons in the Barcelona first team.

Barcelona want Lionel Messi to attend the stadium re-opening. / IMAGO/Action Plus

Barcelona president Joan Laporta revealed contact has already been made with Lionel Messi’s family about the club icon attending the eventual reopening of Camp Nou.

There is no fixed date on when Barcelona will return to Camp Nou, which is still undergoing renovation work, with the club already admitting defeat on staging next month’s Joan Gamper Trophy match at the famous stadium.

To secure extra time to meet city council approval, Barcelona asked UEFA for the club’s first Champions League fixture of the season—which would fall midway through September—to be on the road. The club’s first three La Liga matches are already confirmed as away games.

Whenever exactly it is possible for Camp Nou to reopen—full completion of the building work still isn’t actually expected until next summer at the earliest—Barcelona want Lionel Messi there to honor his role in the club’s storied history.

“We have always said that inaugurating the new Spotify Camp Nou with a tribute to Leo Messi would be ideal,” Laporta told Mundo Deportivo.

Joan Laporta is working to give Messi a real farewell. / IMAGO/ZUMA Press Wire

“I believe the message has reached his family, and there have already been conversations. We would be delighted. It depends on Leo and his family. I hope it happens. It would be very special.”

Discussing specifically when Barcelona could finally return to Camp Nou after two seasons playing at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in Montjuïc, Laporta hopes only that it can be “as soon as possible”.

The “first occupancy permit” is crucially still missing.

“I think there will always be solutions,” the president said during the same interview. “We’re basically working on returning to Spotify Camp Nou. There are alternatives, but these are contingencies we’re not considering right now. We’re focused on returning to Spotify Camp Nou.

“We’re not considering the possibility of not returning. All the budgets we’ve made for next season and all the commitments we have under the financing contract are included in returning to the Spotify Camp Nou. We’d have to redo everything. We’re used to dealing with complicated situations, but we always hope that things will calm down when the time comes.”

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