Barcelona president Joan Laporta has announced the final approval by the club’s board of directors of the erection of a historic statue of his legend Lionel Messi.
“We will build a statue of Leo Messi outside the Spotify Camp Nou,” Laporta said in comments published by the Catalan newspaper Sport. The decision has been made.
But Laporta’s statement came as the Sport newspaper warned the Catalan club that the Argentine star might not agree to a return to Barcelona if he felt he would not be the first man in the team.
Joan Laporta has confirmed that a statue of Leo Messi will be erected at the Camp Nou entrance. ???????????? pic.twitter.com/3t03Z9ty5r
— Leo Messi ???? (@WeAreMessi) October 8, 2022
The newspaper emphasized that Messi would categorically refuse to return to Barcelona next summer if he felt that he would become the “second man” in the team behind Polish striker Robert Lewandowski.
It was also reported that the player considered it a betrayal on the part of Laporta to cancel the contract extension agreement at the last minute, which forced Messi to leave the team.
Messi joined Paris Saint-Germain in August 2021 as a free transfer and his contract with the French club runs until 2023.
Messi remains open to all options, but he prefers to resolve his position after completing his participation in the Argentina squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Source: “Agency”