A new chapter has emerged in the ongoing dispute between Xavi Hernandez and Barcelona president Joan Laporta regarding Lionel Messi’s potential return to Barça in 2023, written by former Blaugrana sporting director Mateo Alemany.
Xavi stated that Messi had given his approval to return to Barcelona after the 2022 World Cup, and that La Liga had given Barça the green light to proceed with the deal, but Laporta prevented it.
Laporta denied this, asserting that Xavi’s claims were nothing but lies, intended to bolster Victor Font’s chances in the upcoming Barcelona presidential elections.
Mateo Alemany, the current sporting director of Atlético Madrid, appeared before his team’s Champions League match against Tottenham and was questioned about the matter, given his previous collaboration with Xavi during that period.
Alemany responded, “Yes, what Xavi said is true. They told us they had received approval. Xavi is right.” This prompted a second intervention from La Liga president Javier Tebas, who denied the matter after Xavi’s comments, and is now denying it again in response to Alemany’s remarks.
In his latest statement on Wednesday, Tebas said, “They haven’t obtained La Liga’s approval, and they never even asked us for it.”
He added, “Furthermore, no one from FC Barcelona has contacted La Liga.”
He concluded, “Mathieu is mistaken. Moreover, it’s impossible: even if there had been an agreement, the contract value would have been similar to João Félix’s.”
