When no one expected it, Leo Messi returned to the Camp Nou. He did it at night, while Barcelona fans were distracted by the beautiful game in Vigo, to enjoy an intimate moment in what was (is and will surely be) his home, without Barça cameras or anyone who could take political advantage of his presence in the Les Corts neighborhood. However, when all of Barcelona was already on its feet, he sent to the world the message that he had been ruminating on for a long time: “Last night I returned to a place that I miss with my soul. A place where I was immensely happy, where you made me feel a thousand times the happiest person in the world. I hope one day I can return, and not just to say goodbye as a player, as I never was able to do…”, he wrote on the 10th this Monday morning on social networks. In less than half an hour, the publication already had more than a million likes.
Those who know Messi understand that that last phrase is loaded with symbolism. Above all, the “how I could never do it” and the ellipses stand out. In short, the 10 does not forget what happened in 2021.
During the electoral campaign in March of that year, Joan Laporta assured that he would resolve Messi’s situation “in a barbecue.” At that time, the Argentine had just overcome disagreements with Josep Maria Bartomeu’s board and needed a change without changing. The figure of Laporta was presented as an opportunity for the captain, who even got involved like he had never done before in an election: he went to vote. Laporta won.
Messi’s joy was short-lived. In August, when his father and representative had already agreed to a 50% reduction in his salary (about 150 million) and that he would only receive a portion, 20 million, in the first of the three years of the contract to try to help the club, Laporta informed Jorge Messi that the renewal could not be made effective. After 20 years in Barcelona, Messi left Camp Nou in tears: “I did everything possible to stay; I don’t know about the club.” Months later, Laporta explained: “Leo’s departure is sad, but it was necessary.”
Since then, Laporta has looked for different ways to get closer to number 10. He tried twice at the Ballon d’Or gala (2021 and 2023) and also at The Best (2022). On all three occasions, without success. “Where is Leo?” asked the Barça president, according to FIFA sources. The closest Laporta was to the Argentine, according to the same sources, was Antonela Roccuzzo, wife of the 10, at the France Football magazine ceremony in 2023.
Laporta was never able to speak to Leo again. Yes he did with Jorge. The conversation? A possible tribute to the 10 in the new Camp Nou. “It would be a beautiful way to inaugurate the stadium, with a tribute to Leo Messi and a full stadium,” the president stressed last Friday, the day the club finally opened the Stadium after a year of delay, for a training session that was watched by nearly 26,000 fans. Nothing strange: a politician doing politics one year before the elections. The difference, this time, is that Messi is not willing to let himself be used. The opposite happens.
When Messi found out that the Argentine team would gather in Alicante before traveling to Luanda to face Angola in a friendly, his advisors presented him with three travel options: one direct, another via Madrid and a third, according to them more cumbersome, via Barcelona. “I want to go to Barcelona, so we can see the Camp Nou and see how it is looking,” Messi asked his collaborators.
There was no minor problem: to notify or not to notify the club. The answer was soon resolved: “The visit was not coordinated with anyone from Barcelona,” they say from around 10. Thus, once in the Catalan capital and before heading to the La Finca Resort complex in Alicante, Messi and his team showed up at the Camp Nou.
“Messi showed up and requested permission to access the Spotify Camp Nou from the Limak security staff. The company forwarded the query to FC Barcelona, which had no problem accepting the request. Messi will always be more than welcome, so there was no problem authorizing his visit,” they justified from the Camp Nou offices. The curious thing is that the version from the Argentine’s entourage is completely different: “That is totally false. We didn’t speak to anyone from the club. Can you imagine? How long could it take them to send someone?” Messi’s decision was not trivial. I dreamed of returning to the Camp Nou, but I had to choose carefully when and how. Monday night was perfect to sneak into a stadium that, as a result of the construction, sleeps with the lights on.
In one week, two gestures showed his affection for Barcelona: the first, when he shared photos of his eldest son, Thiago’s, birthday at a party customized with the club’s colors and emblem. “He is a Barça fan,” they explained from Miami. The second, with the Camp Nou under construction in the background, the fan was no longer the son but the father. The message seems clear: Jan look at me, I’m at your house. No, sorry, in mine.
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