La Liga president Javier Tebas has spoken out about a possible Barcelona return for Lionel Messi after former boss Xavi claimed the Argentine was set to come home in 2023 before Joan Laporta vetoed the move.
Xavi has told La Vanguardia that he spoke with Messi about a possible homecoming and that the forward “was excited about coming back.”
However, he went on to add that: “Laporta told me, and I quote, that if Leo came back, he was going to wage war against him and that he couldn’t allow it. And then
suddenly Leo stopped answering my calls because he’d been told on the other end that it couldn’t be done.”
Tebas has been asked about the situation and has a different version of events. He told Teledeporte: “It’s not true. LaLiga did not authorize anything whatsoever, nor did it have the OK.”
Laporta has also fired back at Xavi’s explosive interview and said that Messi did not return as he preferred to go to Inter Miami instead.
“As for Messi, this is how it was: In 2023, I was told Messi wanted to return and I sent the contract to Jorge Messi, who later came to my house and told me that there would be too much pressure back here and that they would prefer to go to Miami,” he explained.
