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Messi left Barca in 2021, with the club reportedly unable to agree terms on a new contract for the Argentine superstar, who is its record goalscorer.

WAR OF WORDS: Laporta hits back at Xavi

Xavi coached Barca between November 2021 and May 2024, winning LaLiga in 2022-2023.

However, at the end of that title-winning season, Xavi has claimed a deal was in place for Messi to return to Barca from Paris Saint-Germain, only for Laporta to pull out amid fears of a power struggle.

"The president is lying about what happened with Messi," Xavi said. "Leo was signed. In January of 2023, after he had won the [2022] World Cup, I spoke to him and he told me he was excited to learn.

"We spoke until March and I told him: 'Once you give me the OK, I will tell the president because it works perfectly on a football level.'

"The president negotiated the contract with Leo's dad [Jorge] and we had the green light from LaLiga financially, but it's the president who pulled out.

"He told me that if Messi came back, he would make a war [against Laporta]. My interest is in telling the truth. Leo didn't come because the president didn't want him.

"It's a lie to say it's because LaLiga [wouldn't allow it financially] or Jorge Messi asked for more money. It was the president and his people who said they could not allow it, that he [Laporta] has all the power and that Messi would handle that badly."

The former Spain midfielder, who said Laporta's actions led to a rift between Messi and himself, also said the Barca president, who is up for re-election, has lied about why Xavi left the club.

"The president said I wanted to get rid of 10 players and it's not true," Xavi said. "I want the club's members to know the truth about what happens inside the club. Laporta convinced me to stay when I had said in January I was leaving. He told me, textually: 'I don't see the team without you.'

"The president got rid of me without telling me the truth, conditioned by a person who is above him, who is Alejando Echevarria. That's to say, who really got rid of me as coach is Alejandro."

Messi joined Inter Miami in 2023, and led the Herons to their maiden MLS Cup triumph last year.

On Sunday, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner scored his 899th career goal in a 2-1 win over D.C. United.

Xavi, meanwhile, has not held a coaching position since his departure from Barca.