Barcelona’s president Joan Laporta has given an important message about Lionel Messi. Speaking at a general meeting of the club’s delegate assembly, he set out plans to give Messi the farewell tribute he is due.
A report in the Spanish newspaper Sport said Barcelona had already told Messi of its wish to hold a special event in his honour. The Catalan club plans to hold that tribute once construction of the new stadium is complete.
Laporta said: “We have told Messi about this. After the stadium work is finished we want to arrange a tribute for him in front of about 105,000 spectators.”
The Barcelona president said the tribute would ultimately depend on Messi’s own decision: “We will arrange this tribute for him after the stadium work is finished, if he wants it.”
Laporta also spoke about the possibility of Messi taking the field in a Barcelona shirt again. He claimed there had been an opportunity to have Messi back in the side, even for a single season: “There was a possibility of him playing another season with us. But it did not happen, because he took a different decision.” The Barcelona president gave no detail about which period he was referring to.
Laporta’s remarks have brought back an old regret for Barcelona supporters. Messi left Barcelona in the summer of 2021. Despite a long and glorious chapter with the club, Barcelona never had the chance to give him a proper farewell on the pitch.
Laporta stressed the club’s positive attitude towards its relationship with its former captain: “We would be very happy to be able to honour him. I hope we will see him very soon.”
Laporta also expressed sorrow at the death of Messi’s father and agent, Jorge Messi, who died in Rosario, Argentina, on August 8 at the age of 68. Paying tribute to him, Laporta said: “My deep sympathy and respect to his father. He was an extraordinary man.”
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report