Barcelona presidential candidate wants to rename Camp Nou after Lionel Messi
Barcelona presidential candidate Emili Rousaud intends to rename Camp Nou after Lionel Messi. With the Spanish giants scheduled to select their next president in January next year, the candidates are leaving no stones unturned to stake their claim on the coveted seat.
Victor Font, who is also running for the Barcelona president, has already stated that he aims to keep Lionel Messi at the club beyond the summer. Now, Rousaud has spoken about his plan if he gets elected as the next Blaugrana chief. And it’s no surprise that his plans revolve around the Argentinean skipper as well.
Lionel Messi joined Barcelona as a youngster and has become one of their own. He developed into a fantastic talent at La Masia and soon became the greatest player in the world. The Argentinean’s record with the Catalan club is phenomenal, and Barcelona certainly owe a large part of their recent success to him.
It is not a wonder then that both potential Barcelona presidents want to prolong Lionel Messi’s stay at the Camp Nou if they are elected to power.
Lionel Messi is the living history of Barcelona, says Emili Rousaud
The Camp Nou has been home to Barcelona since 1957. It is one of the most iconic stadiums in the world and has a capacity of 99,354.
The stadium is steep in history and emotions of players and fans alike. Rousaud, however, believes that renaming the Camp Nou would be a good idea and has even come up with a proposed name: Camp Nou Leo Messi.
According to Rousaud, as Lionel Messi is the past and the present of Barcelona, the Argentinean deserves to have the Camp Nou named after him, saying in this regard:
"Regardless of the fact that [Messi’s] contract expires at the end of this season, because he is the present and at the same time living history of world football and of Barca, I intend to propose to our members via a referendum for the stadium to be renamed the ‘Camp Nou Leo Messi'."
However, that is not all Emili Rousaud has in mind. The Barcelona presidential candidate has also claimed that his team has been working on securing two big-name signings if he gets elected.
Emili Rousaud admitted that he intends to bring Neymar back to the club but shared little details about the other player. Nevertheless, a pertinent question remains: would it be enough to keep Lionel Messi at Barcelona beyond the summer?