Former Barcelona head coach Xavi and Joan Laporta have become locked in a war of words following a controversial interview in which the former Barcelona midfielder claimed the president blocked Lionel Messi from making a hero’s return to the club over fears of a power struggle.
In a wide-ranging interview with La Vanguardia, Xavi opened up about the breakdown in his relationship with the club’s power brokers and revealed details of a failed plan to bring back club legend and former team-mate Messi in 2023.
‘The president is lying about what happened with Messi,’ Xavi said. ‘Leo was signed. In January of 2023 I contacted him after he won the World Cup and he told me he was excited about coming back. We talked until March and I told him: “When you give me the OK, I’ll tell the president.”
‘We had the green light from La Liga, but Laporta threw everything out. He told me, verbatim, that if Messi came back, he was going to wage war against him and that he couldn’t allow it.
‘I tried to talk to Leo and he wouldn’t answer the phone. I spoke to his father (Jorge Messi) and told him I didn’t understand anything, and he said, “Talk to the president.” It was all set, it was going to be his “last dance,” like Michael Jordan, everything was ready.
‘I’m never going back to Barca. I’ve already done my time as a player and coach. Now I just want to tell the truth. Messi didn’t come to Barca because Laporta didn’t want him. It’s a lie that his father asked for more or that La Liga didn’t want him. Laporta has all the power at the club and he knew that Messi would manage that power for him.’
Xavi has claimed that Barca president Joan Laporta blocked the return of Messi due to concerns that the Argentinian would ‘be more powerful than him’ at the club
Laporta has hit back at Xavi’s comments, saying that his presidential rival Victor Font is ‘using’ Xavi as part of a smear campaign ahead of this week’s elections
Xavi also claimed he had been hamstrung by financial constraints, which he said contributed to his team’s poor performances. A request to bring in Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad was rejected, with the midfielder later joining Arsenal for £55million.
He also pointed to the departure of Jordi Cruyff as sporting director as a symbol of the deterioration of a club whose values had long been shaped by the footballing philosophy of Jordi’s father, Johan Cruyff.
Xavi’s comments come ahead of this week’s presidential election, in which Laporta is aiming to be re-elected. Club members will head to the polls on Sunday to choose between him and Victor Font.
Laporta has since fired back at Xavi’s comments, claiming the Barcelona legend has been left embittered by the fact that his successor, Hansi Flick, has been more successful.
‘When I see what Xavi has said, I think about Hansi Flick,’ Laporta told RAC1. ‘Being Barca 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.
‘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.’
During the interview, Xavi also accused Laporta of being influenced by his former brother-in-law, Alejandro Echevarria, whom he claims holds real power at Barcelona.
‘Laporta convinced me to stay when I had said in January I was leaving. He told me: “I don’t see the team without you.”
‘The president got rid of me without telling me the truth, conditioned by a person who is above him, who is Alejandro Echevarría. That’s to say, who really got rid of me as coach is Alejandro.
‘He (Echevarria) has more power than Laporta, he betrayed me.’
Laporta addressed those claims by suggesting his opponent in the presidential race, Font, is ‘using’ Xavi as part of a smear campaign ahead of the vote.
‘What hurts me is that he allowed himself to be used,’ Laporta added. ‘To hurt me, he’s used someone from my inner circle (Alejandro Echevarria). They defended him (Xavi) even when it was indefensible for him to continue, as did Yuste. He’s eager to smear me. Behind Xavi, I understand Victor Font is trying to manipulate this electoral process.’
