Lionel Messi won his history-making 8th Ballon d’Or yesterday in Paris. After winning the prestigious award, he gave a lovely speech. This speech included words about Barcelona where his love for his boyhood club was absolutely visible. He called Barcelona ‘the best team in history’. Following his heartfelt speech, there was a report by Gerard Romero that said he had a discussion with club President Joan Laporta about his tribute game. However, it seems Messi has responded to such claims on his social media account with a caption, “You lie.”
Lionel Messi posted a story on his Instagram account with a picture of a report from the renowned Spanish journalist Gerard Romero. The report read, “Joan Laporta and Leo Messi spoke at the end of the Ballon d’Or gala. The president thanked Leo for his words during the speech and they met to find the best possible date for the tribute.” It seems Messi did not want to let it go with Romero having posted a lie about him and Laporta.
Messi posted the picture of the report from Romero with a writing of his own below it that read, “You lie… One more time…” The Argentina captain earned football’s greatest achievement last year by winning the World Cup. He made history another time yesterday night as he won his 8th Ballon d’Or in Paris. After Messi won the trophy, he gave a beautiful speech where he did not forget to mention his love and gratitude to his boyhood club Barcelona.
He said, “I was lucky to be in the best team in the world, the best club. The best team in history. That made it easier to win individual titles. I said the other day that Argentina was close to that team and they misunderstood me. Nobody doubts that Barça was the best in history and it will be almost impossible to see something similar.” As per Gerard Romero, Joan Laporta met with Lionel Messi at the end of the gala to thank him for his grateful words.
Apparently, they also talked about a possible date for Messi’s return to Barcelona for his tribute match. The talk of a tribute and farewell match has been in the works for some time now. Laporta himself has talked about it many times including the time he said the opening of the new and renovated Camp Nou could be the perfect time. However, as Messi called Romero a liar for spreading false news, it begs the question if it could also have been targeted at Laporta.
Talking about his ‘return to Barcelona’ to the media after his Ballon d’Or win, Messi said, “I think there was a weird feeling when I left.” Even this summer, the deal to bring Messi back to Barcelona fell through. One of the main reasons was Laporta being unable to promise Messi that he would be registered with La Liga. Hence, the relationship between the two could have become murky. While Messi did not say anything directly to Laporta, but due to the bitterness of the situation, Laporta might also be under fire.
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