Club president promises fans he will build the “best years of our lives” in second tenure
Joan Laporta has revealed plans to celebrate club legend Lionel Messi at Barcelona in response to criticism from Victor Font and Xavi in the run-up to March’s presidential elections.
Laporta’s landslide win over Font earning more than two-thirds of nearly 50,000 votes, gives him the impetus to guide Barcelona through their ongoing structural and financial rebuild.
In the prelude to the election, Xavi and candidate Font criticised Laporta and claimed he had blocked Messi’s return to Barcelona in 2023 because he wanted to consolidate power at the club. Font made Messi one of the key points of his career as he sought to establish a closer relationship between the club and their highly famous legend.
“Leo will be linked to Barcelona in whatever way he wants to be,” Laporta said. “He deserves a tribute [match] and also a statue. That would be hugely significant. Only Ladislao Kubala and Johan Cruyff have statues at the stadium.
“The doors at Barca are always open to him, whenever he wishes, so that he can continue to strengthen and bring greatness to this institution.”
Barcelona’s president also promised that his second tenure will be devoted to increasing the club’s success both on and off the pitch. Laporta has achieved Barcelona’s return to a redeveloped Camp Nou and overseen the development of a young talented squad despite their financial troubles.
“[Our goal is] to win titles, which is what the fans love, but also to play well,” Laporta said. “And to finish the stadium halfway through the mandate, because that guarantees the club’s future on a financial level but also a venue fitting for putting on a show on the pitch. The best years of our lives lie in wait.”
