Former Barcelona player and manager Xavi Hernández has revealed that Lionel Messi had an agreement to return to the club, but the deal ultimately fell through because then-president Joan Laporta blocked the move.
In an interview with La Vanguardia, Xavi stated that Messi expressed a desire to rejoin Barcelona after winning the World Cup in 2022. “He contacted me in January 2023, after becoming world champion and told me he was excited to return, and I saw it too. We spoke until March, and I told him, ‘Okay, when you deliver me the travel-ahead, I’ll tell the president because I think it’s a good fit football-wise.’”
However, Xavi claims that after Laporta began negotiating a contract with Messi’s father, “the president started to negotiate the contract with Leo’s father” and while they “had the green light from LaLiga, it was the president who pulled everything back.”
“I now think I will never return to Barça. I have already had my time as a player, and coach. From now on, my interest is to tell the truth, and Leo is not coming to Barça because the president doesn’t want him to, not because of LaLiga or because Jorge Messi is asking for more money, that’s a lie. It’s the president and his people who tell him no, that they can’t afford it, that he has all the power and that Messi will mismanage that power,” Xavi added.
The revelation comes as Barcelona continues to navigate financial challenges and rebuild its squad following a period of transition. Messi’s departure in 2021 left a significant void, and the club has been searching for a way to bring back the Argentine superstar ever since. This latest account suggests internal disagreements played a key role in preventing his return.
