It has long been said that Barca’s fans must have a dignified farewell to the club’s best player in history – Lionel Messi. Now President Laporta reveals that they are talking to the legend about a tribute match.
Messi’s departure was not as it should have been, as he had to realize in 2021 that Barca were unable to extend his contract, even though he was ready to take a massive pay cut to stay. Therefore, it was only a tearful farewell at a closed ceremony, where Barca’s fans could not give the Argentine the tribute he deserved.
President Joan Laporta hopes to rectify that.
‘It could be fantastic that Messi is there at the opening of the Camp Nou. There have been contacts and we would like it to happen in November 2024, when we return to Spotify Camp Nou, or in June 2026, when everything is finished. We have to see what happens, but we hope that it can be done,’ said Laporta in a conversation with Catalunya Radio today.
Laporta also commented on the club’s attempts to bring Messi back from PSG this summer. ‘We suggested him to return this season, but he made a different decision and preferred to go to Inter Miami. We respect that. We like him very much and we have told him that we will hold a tribute match for him’ came from the Barca president.
Thus, it seems that Messi gets the tribute that a full Spotify Camp Nou wants to give him and when it happens, it cannot avoid being both emotional and historic.
