Joan Laporta was elected president of Barcelona for the period 2021-2016 after defeating two rivals, Victor Font and Toni Freixa. After officially becoming president of Barcelona, Joan Laporta made a promise to persuade Lionel Messi to stay at the Estadio Camp Nou.
For your information, Lionel Messi’s contract with Barcelona ends on June 30, 2021. However, until now there is no sign that La Pulga – Lionel Messi’s nickname – will extend the contract.
It is suspected that one of the reasons Lionel Messi has not signed a new contract is because he is waiting for the results of the Barcelona presidential election which was held last night, Sunday, March 7, 2021, Spanish time or Monday (8/3/2021).
Reportedly, if Joan Laporta is chosen, Lionel Messi is interested in continuing his career with the Blaugrana – the nickname of Barcelona. So, what is the reason Lionel Messi wants to stay at Barcelona if Joan Laporta is elected president?
It’s no secret that Joan Laporta has a good relationship with Lionel Messi. For your information, Joan Laporta was the president of Barcelona for the 2003-2010 period.
During this period, Joan Laporta presented 12 trophies for the Estadio Camp Nou public. Even once in 2009, Barcelona wiped out all available trophies, namely six titles or so-called Sextuple.
This means that Joan Laporta knows Lionel Messi very well personally. Even Lionel Messi’s debut with the Barcelona senior team which took place in 2003, occurred when Joan Laporta was in the presidency.
One more thing, Lionel Messi, who is Barcelona’s socios (club member), became one of the voters in last night’s general election. In fact, according to Marca’s report, this is the first time Lionel Messi has cast his vote in the Barcelona presidential election. It seems that Lionel Messi does not want a fake president to become the leader of Barcelona, so he can contribute votes.
“Today marks 20 years since a boy named Lionel Messi made his debut with the Barcelona Infantil B team (U-12 to U-13),” Joan Laporta quoted Marca as saying, Monday (8/3/2021).
“Leo (Messi) loves Barcelona. The best players in the world love Barcelona. Hopefully that will help him stay at Barcelona. That’s what we want, ”Laporta concluded.
