The "El Chiringuito" program on Spanish television revealed that Argentine star Lionel Messi was very angry at the statements of - his former friend - Barcelona president Joan Laporta, in which he expressed his wish that Messi would play for free for the Catalan team.
Laporta said - in a radio interview last Friday - that he had hoped Messi would make the decision to play for free for the team after talks to renew his contract collapsed due to the club's financial troubles, but he stressed that he would not have asked for this from a player at the level of the Argentine star, as he knew that he would join Paris. Saint-Germain if he leaves Barcelona, according to Laporta.
The next day, Messi said in an interview with "France Football" magazine, in what appeared to be a response to Laporta, "I did not make a mistake. I returned to Barcelona (after the Copa America in July) to prepare for the new season after taking advantage of an additional holiday that coach Ronald gave me. come on".
He added, "I was thinking of signing my contract and starting training immediately, and I thought that everything went as planned and that what was missing was my signature (on the contract)."
And Messi, who won the best player award six times in the world, added, "But when I arrived in Barcelona, they told me that this matter no longer exists, that I could not continue and that I had to search for a new team because Barcelona could not afford to extend his contract with me. It was very difficult to imagine all This means that we will have to leave our home and change the system of family life."
The famous Spanish program stated that Messi was very angry with Laporta's statements, and assured those close to him that he or any of the Barcelona officials did not ask him to play for free for the team at all.
And Messi moved at the beginning of the current season to the French team Paris Saint-Germain, after Barcelona failed to renew his contract due to financial problems, and the restrictions of the Financial Fair Play Law applied by the Spanish Football League, according to what was announced at the time.