Former Barcelona sporting director backs Xavi’s version of Messi’s failed return: ‘He is right’ | OneFootball

The debate surrounding Lionel Messi’s potential return to Barcelona continues to generate discussion after new comments from former sporting director Mateu Alemany.

Alemany, who now works as sporting director at Atletico Madrid, was recently asked about the statements made by former Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez regarding the club’s failed attempt to bring Messi back.

Over the past few days, Xavi has spoken openly about what happened during the negotiations that could have seen the Argentine legend return to Camp Nou. 

What did Xavi say?

According to the former Barcelona coach, the move was close to becoming reality before it was suddenly stopped.

Xavi explained that negotiations had progressed significantly and even suggested that there had been a positive response from La Liga regarding the club’s financial situation at the time.

“The president began negotiating the contract with Leo’s father, and we had the green light from La Liga, but it was the president who threw it all away,” Xavi said.

The former Barcelona coach then made an even stronger claim about the role played by club president Joan Laporta in the situation.

“Laporta told me, word for word, that if Leo came back, he would wage war on him and that he couldn’t allow that to happen,” he added.

Alemany’s comments

Mateu Alemany has agreed with Xavi’s version. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

When asked about Xavi’s remarks, Alemany confirmed that the coach’s version of events matched what he experienced during those discussions. 

The former Barcelona director explained that the information presented to the club suggested the operation had received approval.

“Xavi is right, they told us they had it, Xavi is right,” he said, as reported by Mundo Deportivo.

However, this version of events differs from what Laporta has said publicly. 

He explained that the club was still exploring financial options and that the operation had not received exclusive approval from La Liga.

“La Liga never exclusively approved this operation, and we were exploring the solution to see if La Liga would be okay with a viability plan, as we did when signing Lewandowski. 

“The approval that was missing was Messi’s. His father came to my house to tell me that they had finally chosen to go to Miami.”