Joan Laporta Admitted That Lionel Messi Did Not Want to Greet Him at the Ballon D’or and Speaks of Damaged Relationship

The former president of the Catalan team spoke about the relationship with Lionel Messi and their meeting during the Ballon d'Or gala

Messi's departure and the gala

After Lionel Messi's controversial and traumatic departure from the Catalan club, the relationship between the Argentine and the club's president at the time, Joan Laporta, was never repaired and remains damaged to this day. He revealed that Messi did not want to greet him at the 2023 Ballon d'Or gala

Laporta's statements

Laporta spoke to Catalunya Ràdio about the incident during the gala and said that the Argentine star did not want to greet him when the president approached him with that intention.

"The relationship with Messi is not what it used to be. There was also an incident at the Ballon d'Or awards where I went to greet him, and he felt that we didn't have to greet each other,” Laporta said.

Messi, his departure from Barcelona and the future

TheArgentine player's departure led Messi to leave as a free agent to Paris Saint-Germain and stay there until the World Cup, where he was crowned champion, and then decided to have his stint with David Beckham's team, Inter Miami, in Major League Soccer. Although today the first objective and priority of the number ten is the next World Cup to be played in a few months, there have been rumors about the future of the Flea. Some linked him to Newell's Old Boys; others think the star will stay with Inter Miami, and there is also Barcelona's interest in him.

The truth is that the relationship has been damaged since Lionel Messi's departure, and if Laporta wants to bring the Argentine back, he will have to try to remedy the dramatic situation that was his departure as a free agent and his farewell press conference