“Laporta trying hard to portray himself as the good guy” - Fans slam Barcelona’s ‘passive aggressive’ statement after Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami move
Barcelona's statement following Lionel Messi's move to Major League Soccer (MLS) side Inter Miami has attracted a lot of flak from fans. The Argentine has joined Miami on a free from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
Barcelona were reportedly actively trying to re-sign Messi this summer. However, their pursuit didn't come to fruition and the player eventually chose to leave European football for the MLS.
Barcelona released a statement soon after Messi's move to Inter Miami was made official, claiming they had made a formal offer to the player's entourage but they chose against accepting it.
The statement added that club president Joan Laporta understands the player's decision, who wants to "compete in a league with fewer demands." But that didn't go down well with some fans, who believe it was a "passive-aggressive" statement for a club legend, who spent the majority of his career with them.
Here are some fan reactions to Barcelona's statement:
Barcelona’s statement… yikes 😬
Needlessly passive aggressive, comes across as disingenuous, it’s all just in poor taste. Disappointed.
@NealGardner_ Exactly, as if it was Messi's decision to not come. I still have FULL faith he will be back one dayy, albeit a loan season for his farewell tour. It's good Messi can leave as a free agent at the end of any season
@NealGardner_ Barcelona has fallen so bad . I don't know why I was crying was listening Messi interview 😭😢
"Laporta is trying so hard to portray himself as the good guy here," one fan wrote on Twitter.
@NealGardner_ Laporta trying so hard to portrait himself as the good guy here. Disappointed and embarassing he just making the rift between club and messi wider
@FCBarcelona Finished club
@BrasilEdition @FCBarcelona The official Barca farewell to Messi, this message is the reason why Messi had doubts going to Barca. Laporta is the only reason for Messi choice. Such a wise choice from Messi.
@FCBarcelona Not needed 😭 https://t.co/v03XuQbeSX
What an absolute garbage thing to say by a club on a player that doesn’t even play for them! twitter.com/brasiledition/…
The more and more that we read Barcelona’s post…man is that a small club mentality post.
What an unnecessary press release to a player that has literally given you 50%+ of your history and glory.
What a low blow by Laporta and his PR crew.
Joan Laporta continues to embarrass himself and his institution as Barcelona president.
Just because your club is too financially unstable to make a legitimate offer to Lionel Messi, doesn’t mean you have to take a low blow at MLS. https://t.co/5gMQrp3WFH
There are ways of honoring the best player to ever play for your Club.
This ain’t one of them. It’s not only a shot at MLS, but a direct shot at Messi.
Laporta continues to disappoint. #Messi𓃵 twitter.com/fcbarcelona/st… https://t.co/PuzrVyXb6P
Lionel Messi explains why he didn't join Barcelona
Lionel Messi, during an interaction with Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo, explained why he chose against joining Barcelona this summer. He conceded that after years of playing in Europe, he wanted to spend some time out of the spotlight.
He said:
“Although I heard that La Liga had accepted everything and that everything was fine for me to come back, there were still many other things that needed to happen. I heard that Barcelona had to sell players or reduce players’ salaries, and the truth is that I didn’t want to go through that or take responsibility for something related to all of that.
"I have already been accused of many things that were not true in my career at Barcelona, and I was already a bit tired; I didn’t want to go through all of that. Although I would have loved to, it couldn’t be done.”
He added that having a young family also played a part in his decision, saying:
“I’m at a point where I want to step out of the spotlight a bit, think more about my family. I had two years where I was so unhappy on a personal level that I didn’t enjoy it. I had that month that was spectacular for me because of winning the World Cup, but apart from that, it was a difficult period for me.
"I want to rediscover joy, enjoy my family, my children, the day-to-day… And that’s why the decision for Barcelona didn’t happen.”
Messi scored 32 goals and provided 35 assists in 75 matches for PSG across competitions during his two-year stint with the club.