After the statements of Matteo Alemany, the current sporting director of Atletico Madrid and former Barcelona player, the story of Lionel Messi’s possible return to Barcelona has returned to the forefront. Alemany confirmed the validity of what Xavi Hernandez said about the close completion of the deal earlier.
Xavi had stated that Messi’s return was very imminent after the 2022 World Cup, and that he remained in contact with him for months until March 2023, stressing that things were going well and that the club had obtained what he called preliminary approval from the Spanish League, before the deal ultimately failed, and he pointed out that Joan Laporta was the one who made the final decision to stop it.
But Javier Tebas, President of the Spanish League, categorically denied this story, and confirmed that the League had not issued any approval related to Messi’s return. However, Alemany indicated that what Chafee stated was true, and added that they knew at that time that there was consent.
On the other hand, Laporta presented a different story, as he explained that the League did not grant special approval for the deal, but rather the club was working on a workable financial plan, indicating that the last obstacle was not from the League, but from Messi himself, after his father finally informed the club of his decision to move to “Inter Miami.” (coora)
