Joan Laporta was emphatic about his relationship with Lionel Messi and talked about a possible return to Barcelona

The president of Barcelona, Joan Laporta, was blunt in revealing his current link with Lionel Messi and about rumors of a possible return of the Argentine crack, which today plays for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). The way the footballer left generated a break between the two, a few months after the leader resumed command of the Catalan club in which the rosarino played for 17 years and was key for the culé team to win everything.

Times have changed. Gone are those postcards of hugs, or of lovingly taking the back of the player's neck or even walking together carrying a Champions League on the pitch of Camp Nou on one of the many afternoons of celebrations. Laporta and Messi had almost a father-son relationship during the years that formed the most glorious era of the Barça entity.

In an interview with RAC1, Barça's highest authority confessed that he does not speak to La Pulga today: “There is no personal contact, I remember him with affection and I hope he does too. It wasn't easy for me, I would have liked things to be different, but, as they were produced, I thought the institution came first and I think we did what we had to do.”

“I don't talk to him, I don't have fluid communication like before he left,” he admitted. In addition, he thinks that Leo is not having a good time in Paris: “I hear comments from close people... It's just that Barcelona pulls a lot and when you leave you miss the city, Barça, lived very well here. I felt bad more because of the personal and family issue than for the other, which too.”

The Messi family, whenever they could, returned to the capital of Catalonia and enjoyed a weekend at their home in Casteldefels. For instance, they celebrated the last birthday of Antonela Roccuzzo, Leo's wife. On that occasion they invited friends and former colleagues from Barcelona such as Luis Suárez and Cecs Fàbregas.

However, beyond the sense of belonging to the city, Laporta doesn't see it viable for him to return to the club either: “We didn't think about it. We are building a new team, with young people.” Although he clarified: “We don't consider it, but it deserves respect.” Messi will be 35 years old on June 24.

Despite Laporta's return to Barcelona, Messi did not renew his contract for this season and his tearful departure was shocking in August last year. The strongest offer was that of PSG, which was reinforced by the best player in the world and other elite stars such as defenders Sergio Ramos and Achraf Hakimi, steering wheel Georginio Wijnaldum and goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

However, despite being a squad full of figures in a dream team, they did not achieve the main objective of winning their first Champions League, in which they were eliminated in the round of 16 against Real Madrid, after winning the first leg (1-0), winning the second leg by the minimum, but fell (1-3). In the first home match for Ligue 1 (3-0 win over Bordeaux), fans of the Parisian team only excluded Kylian Mbappé from whistling and booing at the Parque de los Princes Stadium. The team led by Mauricio Pochettino rarely got a good juice and the leadership in the domestic tournament seems little.

That situation generated rumors of a possible return of Messi to Barcelona, something that first denied the player's environment and this Monday was ratified by Laporta himself. Those days of mutual happiness are long gone and a possible reunion is increasingly difficult.

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