Barcelona board members suspect Lionel Messi visit involved political rivals | OneFootball

Barcelona President Joan Laporta welcomed Lionel Messi’s visit back to Camp Nou on Sunday night as an ‘act of spontaneous Barcelonaism’, but there are those within his board that suspect there may be more to it than meets the eye. Messi published photos from the pitch on Monday morning on his social media, having accessed Camp Nou without any previous knowledge of the club.

Messi seemed delighted to be back for the first time at the stadium that he left in tears back in 2021, having never had a chance to bid farewell on the pitch. Later during an interview, recorded before his visit, Messi declared that he and his family miss living in the city, but Laporta has ruled out a return for the 38-year-old as a player.

Barcelona board members suspect political rivals

While Laporta claimed on Wednesday that he was not thinking about the elections, Radio Catalunya say that amongst some of his board members, there has been the suggestion that some of Laporta’s political rivals may have been involved in Messi’s visit. They are under the suspicion that one or more of the opposition groups could have been involved, with Victor Font’s name mentioned.

Image via Sport

Election talk in Barcelona

The next elections at Barcelona could take place in as little as five months’ time, and there has been talk of late that some of the opposition groups may be angling for the support of Messi during the elections, which could swing the vote in their favour. The Messi family supposedly still feel wronged by Laporta for Messi’s exit from Barcelona, and Laporta won the elections against Font by promising that he would keep Messi at the club.

If Messi were to declare an interest in the elections, which he himself can vote in as a member, then it would have huge impact in the voting intention of many Barcelona members. However as a general rule, the Argentinian superstar has kept clear of brazen or open political statements.