Laporta: “I didn’t know Messi would come, but Camp Nou is his home” | Football | Sport

The president of Barcelona, ​​​​Joan Laporta, referred to some aspects of the current affairs of the Catalan team in a week marked by the surprising visit of Leo Messi to the Camp Nou and the controversy sparked by the dismissal of Lamine Yamal from the Spanish team. Barcelona’s top manager presented his explanations to Radio Catalunya. Regarding Messi’s visit to Camp Nou, the president explained the following: “I didn’t know he was coming, but Spotify Camp Nou is his home. When they explained to me what it was like, I think it was a nice outlet. He finished dinner and wanted to come with some friends,” he said. “It is right that Leo receives the best tribute in the world. When it is finished we will have a capacity of 105,000 fans, that’s what we would like. We are working for the tribute and so that we can see the best football in the world and, as part of the tribute, we would like to offer him the tribute that Leo deserves”, concluded the Barcelona president.

Laporta also acknowledged that the Argentine star’s departure from the club in 2021 did not happen as he would have liked. “It wasn’t as we all wanted, things happened as they were. If in some way the tribute could make us redo what wasn’t all that needed to be done, but had to be done, that would be good. Speculation about a possible return as a player is not appropriate,” said Laporta.

The other big current problem for the Catalan team was the withdrawal of Lamine Yamal, due to injury, from the concentration of the Spanish team in view of the next matches against Georgia and Türkiye. “We informed them when we had the response from the doctor who examined him. Our doctors transferred him to those of the Federation. That’s how it went. We don’t want any controversy. The specialist came on Monday, gave him the diagnosis and treatment. Barça wants to have him in the best conditions and we want to have him available. It happened like this and it coincided with the national team’s match, but the national team is already quite on the right track,” said Laporta. “It doesn’t damage the team’s ranking and we do what we have to do in the interest of Barça,” he clarified.

The leader also analyzed Lamine Yamal’s lifestyle. “I’m not worried at all. He’s a player who needs to be protected and helped, but he’s much more mature than any kid of his age. Now he has a problem with groin pain and it’s a great credit for him to continue playing. This shows his commitment,” he said.