Former Barcelona president Joan Gaspart made headlines a few days ago on the back of his controversial comments about the Argentine star Lionel Messi.
Gaspart ran the Catalan giants between 2000 and 2003 before fan anger forced him into a resignation that ended his reign in sorry fashion.
His verdict on Messi was blunt. "Who does he think he is? He needs to be careful, because the institution of Barcelona is bigger than him," he said, referring to the potential tribute to Messi in the city of Barcelona.
Several days later, Gaspart came out himself to clarify those comments and explain his position. Speaking on the programme "Solo para Culers" (Only for Barcelona fans), he explained, according to the Spanish newspaper "Mundo Deportivo": "I have never apologised to my children when I have reproached them over something, whether I was right or wrong in my opinion, as long as I believed it was in their best interest."
The former president added: "I spoke from the heart. You can love Messi as much as I love him, but you cannot love him more than I do. I admit that when I read my comments afterwards, I realised I should not have expressed the matter in that way. Although I was thinking along those lines, the wording was not fortunate."
He pushed the point further, leaning on the strength of his bond with the player: "I love him a great deal, but our relationship is like that of a father and his son. A father tells his son off and says to him: you did not act correctly in this matter. And through that message, and because I hold such great love for him, I went a little too far in my reaction."
A final attempt to clear the air followed. "I got things a bit mixed up. It is logical that Barcelona should be above everyone, not just Messi, but above anyone else. There was a misunderstanding, and perhaps my comments were interpreted as an attempt to back the club's current president, but that is absolutely not true," Gaspart said.