Mysterious Circumstances Behind Lionel Messi’s Failed Barcelona Return Take New Twist

It’s become increasingly clear that dragging this up now is solely for political point-scoring.

Lionel Messi’s original plan was not to join Inter Miami. | Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images

The mystery surrounding Lionel Messi not returning to Barcelona in 2023 has deepened after Xavi’s claims about Joan Laporta derailing an otherwise agreed proposal have now been supported by a former senior executive. Accused of lying, Laporta has insisted his opposition are not truthful.

Xavi declared earlier this week that Messi rejoining Barcelona from Paris Saint-Germain was ready to happen. That is, until Laporta “threw everything out” because he felt threatened and believed Messi would “wage war” in a power struggle with the president.

“Leo isn’t coming because the president doesn’t want him, not because of La Liga or because Jorge Messi is asking for more money—that’s a lie. It’s the president and his people who are telling him no, that he can’t afford it, that he has all the power and that Messi will mismanage that power.”

Speaking to Movistar+ this week, Mateu Alemany added his commentary: “Xavi is right, they told us they had [La Liga’s approval].” Alemany was Barcelona’s soccer director at the time, having since left to join Atlético Madrid once Deco came aboard.

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Laporta Hits Back, Blames Resentment, Rivalry

Joan Laporta is seeking re-election as Barcelona president. | Javier Borrego/Europa Press/Getty Images

In response to Xabi’s explosive interview, Laporta immediately hit back, claiming the club legend and former manage sacked in 2024 has been “used” by presidential rival Víctor Font.

Laporta, whose relationship with Messi is known to be strained, has a different version of events, insisting that the player and his father, Jorge, had not yet agreed to return to Barcelona at a time when the club was presenting La Liga with a “viability plan” for the signing.

“What [Xavi] says isn’t true. What we didn’t have was Messi’s ‘O.K.’ There was silence from Jorge, and then he informed us of the decision to go to Inter Miami.”

Faced with Alemany’s apparent corroboration of Xavi’s statement, Laporta took another opportunity to defend himself on Onze de Esport 3. He remains favorite to win the upcoming presidential election but the developing saga pitting him against Barça icons is unwelcome.

“I always had a good relationship [with Alemany], but he will know why he makes these statements. When resentment comes together, it ends up being untrue,” Laporta claimed.

“La Liga never gave us a definitive O.K. We thought we could have convinced them. Xavi spoke and I see that [Font] has used him and Mateu too. Make no mistake, I had a very good relationship with [La Liga president Javier] Tebas. Mateu is now at Atlético and as he is smart he will surely want to destabilize a direct rival like Barça.”

Tebas has chimed in to support Laporta, claiming to RTVE that Barcelona didn’t contact the league.

Laporta continued: “Xavi’s opinion is very tainted by a certain resentment and from that feeling the truth is lacking. Everyone is very free to speak but the statements that Xavi made confirm to me that we made a good decision [firing him]—with almost the same players Xavi lost and [Hansi] Flick won.”

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Messi: I Wanted to Return

Several Messi interviews since he joined Inter Miami have made it clear that he wanted to re-sign with Barcelona upon leaving Paris Saint-Germain.

A particularly significant joint chat with Mundo Deportivo and SPORT in June 2023 suggests that the player was told signing with Barcelona was dependent on the club’s finances. He was on board with the idea of returning, but waiting to find out if it was possible, after the nature of his 2021 departure—on Laporta’s watch—left him uneasy and unwilling to have things dictated to him.

What Messi said he was told tracks with Xavi and Alemany, that La Liga had approved it.

“[I was] very excited to be able to return, but, on the other hand, after having experienced what I experienced and the exit I had [in 2021], I did not want to be in the same situation again: wait to see what would happen and leave my future in someone else’s hands,” Messi explained.

“I wanted to make my own decision, thinking about myself, about my family. Although I heard it was said La Liga had accepted that everything was fine for me to return, there were still many other things that had to be done. I heard that [Barcelona] had to sell players or lower player salaries and the truth is that I didn’t want to go through that."

On two other occasions, Messi went into less detail. But each time said he wanted to return but it “wasn’t possible.”

That this saga is being played out now—a matter of days before the upcoming presidential election—illustrates the political point-scoring at Barcelona and the importance of behind-the-scenes politics.

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