It has been a tough week for Barcelona president Joan Laporta, first the deal to bring Lionel Messi back to the Camp Nou went up in smoke due to the club’s financial woes and a rock-solid offer from Inter Miami of Major League Soccer.
To make matters worse Laporta penned a statement that was heavily criticized by the soccer world as a cheap shot and classless. In said statement Laporta stated that Messi was not returning to Barcelona because he wanted to play with less pressure.
Now it is being reported by ESPN that the Laporta – Messi relationship could end on good terms. According to sources Joan Laporta and Jorge Messi, Lionel’s dad and manager, are working on a tribute match for Barcelona’s greatest ever player.
Lionel Messi’s Barcelona numbers
Laporta stated that the game will be “a proper tribute from Barça fans”. To say that Messi revolutionized Barcelona is an understatement. Messi scored 672 goals in 778 matches; Messi is the player who most times has put on a Barcelona kit and leads in almost every stats category.
On top of that Messi is the club’s all-time leading scorer in LaLiga and European competitions. Messi has also won the most titles with the club, 35, which also breaks down to most League titles with 10.
