“Messi and Barca are more of a farce” – Ex-Spain international says Barcelona ‘made few moves’ to sign Lionel Messi this summer
Former Spain goalkeeper Santiago Cañizares has labeled talks of Lionel Messi's return to Barcelona as a farce. He believes that the PSG star would not have agreed to a deal as the relationship is torn apart despite the club making a few moves.
Inter Miami have won the race for Messi this week and have confirmed that the Argentine will be penning a deal with them. Al Hilal were also interested in the PSG star and had tabled a world-record bid of €500 million per season.
Cañizares has stated that there was very little chance of Messi ever returning to Barcelona. He believes that the PSG star and club president Joan Laporta are not on good terms following La Pulga's exit in 2021.
He told Despierta San Francisco:
“Messi and Barça are more of a farce than anything else. Even if Messi wanted to come to Barca, it wouldn't have been the best thing to do. They would have forced him to be the same Messi as always, and that Messi was 10 years younger."
The former goalkeeper continued:
"I know that Laporta and Messi's relations are not the best. What sense would it make to bring him in, being more charismatic than him and receiving more affection."
He added:
"Any move Messi would have made could have done Laporta in. Not having this type of footballer, who is more than just a footballer, is a very dangerous thing to do. Nobody dares to speak ill of Messi in Barcelona. I think Barcelona have made few moves to get Messi back.”
Messi is expected to make his Inter Miami debut after MLS's midseason break.
Barcelona take shots at Lionel Messi after MLS move
Barcelona were keen on bringing Lionel Messi back to the club, with Joan Laporta and Xavi talking openly about the possible move. The manager went on to claim in his Mundo Deportivo interview that he was pushing for the Argentine to return and had held talks to explain his tactics for next season.
Once the move to Inter Miami was confirmed, Barcelona did not take long to release a statement. They took cheeky shots at the forward and claimed that Messi was moving to a league with fewer demands and wanted to stay away from the spotlight.
It read:
"President Laporta understood and respected Lionel Messi's decision to want to compete in a league with fewer demands, further away from the spotlight and the pressure he has been subject to in recent years."
Laporta had been pushing for the move since last summer and had revealed to CBS Sports that he had a plan in place. However, Marca claimed that Lionel Messi was asked to wait until August to find out if the club could afford his return.