Barcelona President Joan Laporta sent a friendly message to Lionel Messi, reigniting talk of a potential reconciliation in their strained relationship and opening the door for a long-awaited reunion between the Argentine legend and the Catalan club’s fans.
Laporta published his message on X (formerly Twitter) on the occasion of the Inter Miami star winning the 2026 Princess of Asturias Award for Sports, which he received on Friday evening in the Spanish city of Oviedo, in recognition of his sporting and humanitarian career.
Congratulating the club’s former captain, the Barcelona president wrote: “Congratulations on the Princess of Asturias Award.”
He added: “With your talent, you helped make Barcelona bigger, the club of your life yesterday, today, and forever.”
He continued: “Messi and Barcelona, Barcelona and Messi, a shared success story,” emphasizing the pride of the club’s fans in this relationship and his desire for the Argentine’s name to remain associated with Barça.
The message carries special significance given the breakdown of relations since the summer of 2021, when efforts to renew Messi’s contract ended in his departure to Paris Saint-Germain after Barcelona announced its inability to register the agreement due to financial constraints, before his potential return stalled again in 2023 when he opted for Inter Miami.
The impact of the rift extended to the file of his tribute match at the Camp Nou. Journalist Irene Junquera stated on Radio Marca that Messi does not wish to return for a farewell match as long as Laporta remains president, which explains the continued delay of the event according to her assessment, though without a new direct statement from the player himself.
Barcelona fans continue to await a fitting farewell for the man who scored 672 goals in 778 official matches in the Blaugrana shirt and won 35 trophies with the club, including ten La Liga titles and four UEFA Champions Leagues.
Laporta’s initiative can be viewed as an attempt to foster an atmosphere of reconciliation that could facilitate organizing the anticipated tribute; however, moving from a congratulatory message to Messi’s physical return requires steps and agreements that are not expected to be easy.
