Newly elected president, Joan Laporta, claims that Lionel Messi voting in the elections is a sign that the Argentine still cares for the club and will stay on after the end of the season.
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Many fans and members of the club are scared that the mercurial superstar will leave the club at the end of the season in order to join a more competitive side however, Laporta is convinced that he can persuade him into staying.
The two share a good former relationship that could definitely benefit Barcelona and recent results have shown that the club is still ready to put up a good fight. More than money, the 32-year-old wants a team that will compete for all the trophies available and although the Blaugrana did not start the season well, they have managed to pick it up and Messi is visibly happier at the club.
Laporta still confident that Lionel Messi will continue at Barcelona
In a press conference after being elected the president, Laporta gave a passionate speech about Messi and said that the player who was raised up by Barcelona still has a lot of love for the club. He told the media,
"“Seeing Lionel Messi coming to vote today, seeing him taking part, that is very telling,”“Twenty years ago [he] made his debut with Barca’s youth team. Seeing the best player in the world come out to vote today is a clear sign of what we keep saying. Leo loves Barca.“The best player in the world loves Barca and I hope that is a sign that he will stay at Barcelona, which is what we all want.”Source Goal"
The reality of the situation is a bit different however, even though they have started to pick up their form again and they overcame massive odds against Sevilla, they are still no match for Europe’s top clubs and their match against Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League really showed how much Ronald Koeman still has to work with the team.
On top of that, the Argentine will have to accept a significant wage cut as the Catalans can no longer manage his massive contract. However, Barca is Messi’s club and he has not made any decisions yet so all we can do now is hope that he will choose his home club over the likes of Manchester City and PSG.
Do you think Joan Laporta can convince Lionel Messi to stay at Barcelona?