Barcelona president Joan Laporta has opened up on the “painful” exit of Lionel Messi last summer, but insisted that the La Liga giants made the right decision by letting the superstar depart.
Messi left the Nou Camp on a free transfer for Paris Saint-Germain at the start of August after Barca failed to get his new contract passed through La Liga ’s stringent salary cap rules.
It brought an end to a 21-year association between Messi and Barcelona, with the Argentine breaking down in tears at the press conference that announced his departure.
At first, Barca struggled in the aftermath of his exit, with the Catalan giants enduring an awful start to the season that led to Ronald Koeman getting sacked, though they have recovered under Xavi.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Has Barcelona's decision to let Lionel Messi leave turned out to the right or wrong decision? Comment below.
Messi too has found life away from Barca difficult, with the 34-year-old scoring just seven goals in all competitions, despite being part of a star-studded PSG team.
While Xavi has taken them back into the top three of the La Liga table, they have still been knocked out of the Champions League and the Copa del Rey.
Arguably, the presence of Messi may have helped them to enjoy deep runs in both competitions.
Despite that though Laporta has insisted he made the right decision by letting Messi leave, an action that helped to ease Barca’s immense financial pressure.
“It was painful. If I take stock, it is the saddest decision of all and I would never have wanted to make it,” he told Barca TV.
“But I am not sorry either because I wanted to put the institution ahead of everything, even ahead of coaches and the best player in history.
“And we had to do it. Because the situation we inherited is what it was. And due to a lot of will and intentionality we had, we came across a reality.
“It might seem that there was nothing afterwards, but those of us who love Barça know that history continues and with work and well-thought-out decisions, we can continue on the path of success.”
Messi was one of 11 departures in the summer window, but Laporta believes all of them were key to turning around the fortunes of the club.
“It was not easy. We had an oversized squad in many ways. The sports payroll was the highest in the world with figures that were not sustainable,” he added.
“We are building a stage that I hope will be splendid and we are doing it with people from home who already have a present and a better future.
“The ambition is this: to make a team that lasts for many years, that plays very well, scores many goals and wins many titles , and that the people are happy.
“Seeing Pedri, Ansu and all of them with players with some experience but also youngsters who haven't made it at home but have also come a long way makes us hopeful.”
