Lionel Messi may be at PSG, but his heart continues to be at Barcelona. Messi, who wanted to stay at Barcelona in the summer, has hit back at club President Joan Laporta after the ladder made comments that he intended for the 34-year-old to play for free at Barcelona.
At the time Laporta stated: "When it came to making the decision, I thought I was doing the best thing for Barcelona. I hoped there would be a change and that he'd say he'd play for free, but we cannot expect a player of his level to do that… We have a very good relationship. I knew that if we recovered financially, we would compensate him, but we couldn't make demands knowing the offer he had in Paris.”
Now Lionel Messi in an interview has dismissed those claims by Laporta, saying they are a cop-out by the Barcelona brass to not assume any responsibility in his leaving the club to PSG in the summer.
Lionel Messi on Joan Laporta’s comments
Speaking to Sport de España Messi had stated that Laporta’s comments were not the right course of action: “(The comments) hurt me because I think he doesn't need to say that, it’s like taking the heat off you and not assuming its consequences, or taking charge of things. This makes people think or generates a type of doubt that I think I do not deserve.”
Messi went on to state: "Nobody asked me to play for free, but, at the same time, I think what the president said was inappropriate... I was asked to cut my salary by fifty percent, and I did it without any problem. We were in a position to help the club more. The desire and desire of me and my family was to stay in Barcelona.”
Messi himself has been under fire for his recent performances at PSG, where the Argentine has failed to score a league goal and has not had a major game for the club since his arrival. His form was called out by long time PSG legend and sporting director Leonardo.
