Overview
- Xavi Hernandez says a 2023 return for Lionel Messi was agreed with LaLiga’s financial green light, but Joan Laporta refused to approve it.
- Former sporting director Mateu Alemany has been reported to support Xavi’s account of the failed comeback.
- Laporta rejects their version, says LaLiga never gave a definitive OK, and claims Xavi and Alemany are speaking out of resentment.
- He further suggests Alemany, now at Atlético Madrid, has motives to destabilize Barcelona, framing the statements as strategic.
- Messi ultimately chose Inter Miami in 2023, and the dispute over why a Barcelona reunion collapsed is now a central issue in this weekend’s presidential election.