‘Leo didn’t come because the president didn’t want him’: Xavi says Lionel Messi’s Barcelona comeback in 2023 was scrapped by Joan Laporta

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3 min readMar 9, 2026 08:22 PM IST

Lionel Messi Barcelona return Xavi Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi reacts after a missed shot on goal during the second half of an MLS soccer match against D.C. United, Saturday, March 7, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Former Barcelona player and coach Xavi Hernandez said that Lionel Messi‘s return to Camp Nou was almost a done deal in 2023 but the club’s president Joan Laporta had blocked the Argentinian’s transfer fearing a power struggle with the superstar. Messi would ultimately end up joining his current club Inter Miami in 2023 after his Paris Saint Germain tenure ended.

“The president is lying about what happened with Messi. Leo was signed. In January of 2023, after he had won the World Cup, I spoke to him and he told me he was excited to learn. We spoke until March and I told him: ‘Once you give me the OK, I will tell the president because it works perfectly on a football level,” Xavi said to Spanish outlet La Vanguardia as per ESPN.

“The president negotiated the contract with Leo’s dad and we had the green light from La Liga financially, but it’s the president who pulled out. He told me that if Messi came back, he would make a war. My interest is in telling the truth. Leo didn’t come because the president didn’t want him. It’s a lie to say it’s because LaLiga or Jorge Messi asked for more money. It was the president and his people who said they could not allow it, that he has all the power and that Messi would handle that badly,” he added.

Laporta has since responded to Xavi’s claims implying that the former coach was saying these things because he was replaced with Hansi flick.

“Being Barça president is a tough job and you have to make difficult decisions. I did what I had to do. With Xavi, I saw that we were going to lose and that with Flick we were going to win. I understand that he’s hurting. With the same players, Flick is winning,” Laporta told RAC1 as per ESPN.

“As for Messi, this is how it was: In 2023, I was told Messi wanted to return and I sent the contract to Jorge Messi, who later came to my house and told me that there would be too much pressure back here and that they would prefer to go to Miami,” he added.

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