Javier Tebas contradicts Xavi, says LaLiga gave no green light on Messi return

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·9 March 2026

Javier Tebas contradicts Xavi, says LaLiga gave no green light on Messi return

Javier Tebas has rejected Xavi Hernández’s assertion that LaLiga approved Lionel Messi’s return to Barcelona in 2023.

Speaking to Telediario, Tebas said: "It is not true. LaLiga did not authorise anything and did not give the OK."

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Xavi, who has also suggested Joan Laporta shut the door that year, said the comeback was almost agreed. He contacted Messi after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to gauge his interest. The forward, in his final Paris Saint-Germain season, was described as keen and the pair spoke for months.

According to Xavi, talks ran until March 2023 and there was a LaLiga green light, prompting the club to negotiate with Jorge Messi.

Messi left Paris, choosing the United States to join Inter Miami.

Source: El Periódico Mediterráneo