Presidential candidate Víctor Font has called on Lionel Messi to “tell the truth” about his collapsed 2023 return to Barcelona, aiming to expose what he calls a “smoke screen” by incumbent Joan Laporta ahead of Sunday’s high-stakes election.
The race was upended after former coach Xavi Hernández alleged that Laporta personally blocked Messi’s homecoming from PSG to avoid a “power struggle,” contradicting Laporta’s claim that Messi simply chose the lower pressure of Inter Miami.
“I hope [Messi] tells the truth so that the socis don’t go to the polls misled by Laporta,” Font stated Tuesday, urging the club’s member-owners (socis) to look past recent successes under Hansi Flick.
Xavi claims Laporta feared a “war” with Messi and lied about the negotiations. Meanwhile, Laporta maintains the decision was made by Messi’s father to seek a quieter life in MLS.
Laporta previously won the presidency on a failed promise to keep Messi in 2021; this new controversy threatens his re-election.
