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Joan Laporta, the favorite to be Barcelona’s new president, on Messi, Guardiola and transfers

Joan Laporta cannot imagine Lionel Messi in Manchester City. As a favorite to become Barcelona’s new president next month, this could be a very important detail.

“I can only imagine him in a Barça shirt,” he says as he prepares for the January 24 elections from his campaign headquarters in the heart of the city.

“And I’ll do everything I can to make sure he continues to wear it with the number 10 on his back. I think it suits him very well. ‘

Joan Laporta is the favorite to become Barcelona's new president in next month's elections

Joan Laporta is the favorite to become Barcelona’s new president in next month’s elections

Laporta wants to do whatever it takes to convince Lionel Messi to stay at Nou Camp and retire

Laporta wants to do whatever it takes to convince Lionel Messi to stay at Nou Camp and retire

Most of the other candidates have sat on the fence about Messi’s future or even hinted that he could be worth more to the club on the payroll.

But not Laporta. The man who first became president of Barcelona in 2003 by promising David Beckham and instead extraditing Ronaldinho has cultivated a relationship with Messi and his father Jorge.

“What upsets Leo the most is that they lied to him,” he said of the summer absence when Messi asked Pep Guardiola to bring him to City.

“I’m lucky to be able to say that he [Messi] said to me: “You have never lied to me. Whenever you suggested something to me, you kept your word,” says Laporta proudly.

‘She [the former board] made him the one who was responsible for everything, they stayed in the background and he didn’t have to put up with that. ‘

Laporta is not a place to stay in the background.

Laporta placed a huge campaign poster next to Real Madrid's Bernabeu stadium this week

Laporta placed a huge campaign poster next to Real Madrid’s Bernabeu stadium this week

On Monday, a 50-meter-high campaign poster was posted on the side of a building in Madrid, just 100 meters from the Santiago Bernabeu.

His smiling face shines under the slogan “hoping to see you again”.

Some say the stunt is provocative – a bit like Graeme Souness planting the Galatasaray flag in the center of Fenerbahce’s pitch.

Laporta says it’s just a bit of fun and is aimed at the many Barcelona fans in Madrid.

His bravery is not for everyone, but you can’t help but sense that he is a real football man.

He’s not a fan of VAR: “Mainly because it ruins the goal celebrations,” he says. He believes a European Super League “could destroy the essence of the game”. And he’s not impressed with the idea that Messi could be wooed by a longer contract that includes an “ambassador” role.

“The word ambassador is very ambiguous,” says Laporta. “I know Leo and I think he just wants to keep playing and focus on winning another Champions League.”

Will he get Messi’s public approval? ‘People say to me, “Why don’t you talk to him?” But he already knows what I’m thinking.

Laporta want to build a competitive team that can help Messi win another European Cup (pic 2010 together).

Laporta want to build a competitive team that can help Messi win another European Cup (pic 2010 together).

“He knows that as president I first have to figure out how to convince him to stay until the end of his career.”

Messi’s future isn’t the only problem the new president has to solve – € 300m (£ 268m) has been cut from Barcelona’s budget this season because of the pandemic, despite Laporta saying: ‘The club has been badly governed. Covid cannot be held responsible for everything. ‘

He believes they need to be smarter in the transfer market. The acquisitions of Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele for fees that could total EUR 280 million appear ill-considered.

“I’m not going on the sporting side because there are people whose opinions I want to respect, but in terms of the amount of money I think there was a big mistake – to spend the € 222m you got on Neymar at once.

“If you lost Neymar, the club was already in a difficult position financially. The [money] should have been used to balance the budget. ‘

When outgoing President Josep Bartomeu resigned, the grenade thrown over his shoulder was supposed to announce that Barcelona had already entered the European Super League.

Laporta struck the transfer business and financial activity of ex-president Josep Bartomeu

Laporta struck the transfer business and financial activity of ex-president Josep Bartomeu

‘I think that [statement] was a product of desperation to have left the club in a very complicated situation, ”says Laporta.

“He wanted to try to make it look like there were things that could still be exploited, and that’s why he published this news, which incidentally also violates any confidentiality clauses associated with this possible competition.

‘Everything that is proposed will be studied and decisions will be made based on the interests of Barcelona and also the interests of football itself.

“But things like this have been tried many times and never materialized. We believe you can destroy the essence of football.

‘There is also a proposal for a World Cup Super Cup [revamped Club World Cup played at the end of every second season when there are no international tournaments] that might make more sense. We will study everything. ‘

When asked if he could still have a surprise, despite all the talk of severity and seriousness regarding the financial situation, there is a certain laugh and the fascinating ambiguity: “If I have something to say, I will say the right one Time.’

But it won’t be another Beckham or Ronaldinho, and without a big name, its selling points must be its own experience and know-how.

He doesn't like VAR and says it's a European Super League

He doesn’t like VAR and says a European Super League “could destroy the essence of the game”

He’s done this before. Desperate at the classless way the club’s third top scorer Luis Suarez was sacked in a one-minute phone call last summer, he recounts the moment he told Ronaldinho he needed to find another club in 2008: “I left to his house and I said, “I hate to say this, but this has to end”. And we hugged and talked. ‘

It’s a more humane approach to “treat players like little brothers,” he says at one point.

He will also play with his negotiation skills. There are concerns that repayments on a proposed loan from Goldman Sachs are tied too closely to the money the club is making from commercializing the proposed stadium refurbishment.

Above all, Laporta promises to do everything possible to keep Messi staying.

“Yes, with a competitive team,” he says when asked if he thinks the Argentine can play for many years to come.

“Leo is not about money. He wants to be in a team that can win the Champions League again. ‘

He knows that it will not be easy to get the team competitive again. He did in 2003, but he had Johan Cruyff as an advisor, and when he wanted a smart young coach in 2008, Guardiola showed up.

Laporta wouldn't be convinced he could bring Pep Guardiola (pictured together in 2008) back to Barcelona

Laporta wouldn’t be convinced he could bring Pep Guardiola (pictured together in 2008) back to Barcelona

‘Johan is always with me because of everything I have learned from him. And with Pep I have an open line, ”he says.

Does that mean he asked him to leave City and join him in Barcelona?

‘No. He’s a friend, I speak to him, and he’s the best coach in the world. But I knew what his situation was like in City. So I never took this step. ‘

He won’t even be convinced that Guardiola will return to Barcelona one day in the future.

“The problems we are facing now are so great that I cannot think about what could happen in the years to come, even with a friend. I am worried about Barça. I’m not worried about things that are outside of the club.

‘Of course I wish him and Txiki [Begiristain]and all the people I love who are there, all the best. ‘

But they can’t have Messi. Or at least he’ll do whatever he can to make sure they don’t get him this summer.

‘This is the biggest challenge of my life. I know that, ”says Laporta. “I started going to the stadium when I was five. My grandfather and father made me a member when I was ten.

‘The club deserves to be put back on track. It should be economically sound. We want people to fall in love with Barcelona again. ‘

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