Former Barcelona president attacks Messi: who does he think he is? Barca is bigger than him
Joan Gaspart, the former Barcelona president, has not held back on Lionel Messi and the farewell to the Catalan club that still hasn't happened, postponed all these years, it seems, because of his strained relationship with Joan Laporta following his sudden exit.
The Eurosport website published Gaspart's comments to the programme "Solo Para Colis", where he said: "There is no argument about Messi's level, he is the best player in the world, but there is one thing he must not forget, and that is that Barcelona is bigger than him."
He continued: "Messi should be careful, he should be careful. I say that out of the historic affection I hold for a player I signed when he was 13 years old, and I was Barca president at the time."
Gaspart stressed: "Barcelona is bigger than the person of Messi."
The former president then took aim at the conditions Messi is setting for his goodbye. "He is a great player, indeed the best player in the world, and credit for that goes partly, and I do not put a specific percentage on it, to Barcelona. So he cannot forget that."
He noted: "I will give him a little extra time, but a day will come when it starts to annoy me that Mr Messi shows not the slightest objection to coming to Barcelona to say goodbye to the fans."
"Regardless of who the club president is, he must come to bid Barcelona farewell," he added. "If Lionel Messi comes to say goodbye to the club, he should not refuse to attend because Laporta is the president and then come on the day when Laporta is no longer there."
He went on: "I would not agree to a tribute being held for him in that case. Who does he think he is? How can he make his coming to Barcelona conditional on Laporta staying in his post or leaving? If Laporta is not there, I will not attend on the day of the tribute."
Gaspart also told a story about Messi's standing at the present time, citing his grandchildren from the new generation, saying: "I now have four grandchildren from the fourth generation, and I asked them whether they wanted me to buy them a Barcelona shirt. I said to them: shall I put Messi's name on it or Lamine's? They answered me: grandad, Lamine of course! Who is the other player you mentioned?"
His conclusion: "My grandchildren even ask me: grandad, who is the other player? Lionel Messi. And they say: ah, was he a good player? And I answer them: he was a great player, in fact the best player I have seen in history. And still, grandad, I want Lamine's shirt."
