"A success story": Laporta's touching message to Messi melts the ice of tension
What did the Barcelona president say to the Flea?
Joan Laporta has reached out to Lionel Messi. The FC Barcelona president sent a moving message to his former star on the occasion of his Princess of Asturias Award for Sports for 2026, a gesture that could mark a turning point in a relationship strained over recent years.
Writing in Catalan on his account on the "X" platform, Laporta celebrated the historic achievement of the man who became the first footballer to win the award on his own.
Laporta's message: "the club of your life"
The Barcelona president wrote: "Leo, I congratulate you on receiving the Princess of Asturias Award for Sports for 2026, a well-deserved recognition of your footballing and personal achievements. With your talent, you helped make FC Barcelona, the club of your life, greater, yesterday, today and always."
He closed with a line that summed up the shared history: "Messi and Barcelona, Barcelona and Messi, a shared success story that all Barcelona fans are proud of and to which we wish continued good fortune."
The club's statement: "an unbreakable bond"
Laporta's message came hours after the club's official statement, also in Catalan, released through its channels. It read: "This is a well-deserved recognition of your exceptional talent, which left an indelible mark on and off the pitch, and made you a global symbol of football thanks to your excellence, your commitment to the sport and your solidarity."
The statement went on: "A career full of successes, in which FC Barcelona was an essential part of your life and history. An unbreakable relationship that forms part of the club's legacy, and it will remain a source of pride for us that you are still a part of it."
From La Masia to glory
Speaking to the channel "Teledeporte", Laporta traced the roots of the relationship that built a legend: "La Masia, our approach to understanding football, and the trust that Barcelona placed in Messi, were decisive factors in his career. A relationship formed between a unique player and a club with a footballing identity that perfectly matched his talent. It was an ideal symbiosis, and it is something truly wonderful when we recall his beginnings."
The timing matters. This double gesture from club and president arrives with tension still lingering between Laporta and Messi since the Argentine's exit in the summer of 2021. It raises the question of whether the Princess of Asturias Award will open a new chapter and bring warmth back between the legend and the club of his life.
