Joan Laporta makes 'did what I had to' admission about Lionel Messi's exit as Barcelona 'needed to build a new team'

Laporta has once again defended the decision to part ways with Barca's greatest ever player. While the exit was met with tears and frustration from the fan base, Laporta maintains that the financial and sporting reality of the club left him with no choice but to initiate a total rebuild.

In a frank discussion with El Pais, Laporta explained that the logic behind the split was rooted in long-term planning. "I did what I had to do. Leo was nearing the end of his career and we needed to build a new team. Would I have liked to build the new team with Leo’s help? Yes. We tried, but it wasn’t to be," he admitted.

Despite the clinical nature of the 2021 separation, Laporta is eager to ensure that Messi’s connection to Barcelona remains intact. For Laporta, the story of Messi and Barca is not yet finished, at least from a ceremonial and emotional standpoint.

"He is a key player of his generation: Kubala, Cruyff and Messi. He deserves a statue and a tribute match. Barça is his home," Laporta said. "The relationship in the future and the immediate present will be as Leo wants and as Barça wants. At some point, interests will converge again."

The conversation then turned to the Negreira case, the investigation into payments made by Barcelona to a former refereeing official that has dominated headlines in Spain. Laporta was quick to dismiss any suggestion that the allegations would permanently damage the club’s reputation, instead pointing the finger at external forces in the Spanish capital for fueling the fire.

"No, that’s more of an institutional smear campaign that, fortunately, hasn’t been successful. There are interests at play coming from Madrid," the president claimed.

He further alleged a historical bias in Spanish football, stating: "I’ve always felt that we have to be far superior, because the referees don’t favour us. Here, it seems they always help Madrid. They’ve got ‘Barcelonitis’ – it’s obvious."

Finally, Laporta addressed the cooling of relations with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez. Once seen as allies in the push for a European Super League, the bond between the two most powerful men in Spanish football has fragmented.

"It’s been quite a while (since we last spoke). Since his appearance in the Negreira case, the relationship has deteriorated," Laporta revealed.

He also touched upon Barcelona’s shifting stance on the Super League project itself. "I respect him and I feel that he has respected me as well. We decided to pull out of the Super League because it had lost its purpose: it wasn’t coming to fruition, and we’d already told them that. Furthermore, UEFA was taking steps to improve the sustainability of football in Europe," he concluded.