“It Was Strange”- Barcelona President Admits Not Liking Lionel Messi in PSG Shirt

A year ago, if somebody would’ve said that Messi will leave Barcelona and join PSG, it would’ve sounded outlandish. And that’s exactly what has happened. Lionel Messi sent shockwaves across the world when he recently joined French giants PSG from Barcelona on a free transfer. The ex Barcelona no 10 had spent 21 years at the Catalonian club and his departure was a very emotional affair. Addressing the messy situation of the club, the president of FC Barcelona, Joan Laporta, recently spoke to Esport 3 on Messi playing for PSG and the economic situation of the club.

Barca is eternally grateful to Lionel Messi

Laporta had previously mentioned that if the cash-strapped club was in a better economic position, they would not have let Messi go. Unfortunately, they had losses of 481 million euros and debt adding up to 1.35 billion euros. Due to this, they had to reluctantly let Messi go. 

Talking about Messi and his importance for the club, Laporta said, “We have an eternal gratitude to Messi. It has been a beautiful and successful relationship, but it is the law of life.” 

Laporta is unhappy to see Messi playing for PSG

Messi joining the Paris-based club certainly left a bad impression in the minds of Barca supporters. Laporta echoed similar sentiments of sorrow seeing a club legend joining their European rivals. When asked about his reaction to seeing Messi in a PSG kit, Laporta said, “It’s a contradictory feeling to see him come up with PSG. I saw his debut with PSG and it was strange to see him at another team, rivals [of Barcelona]; I did not like seeing him in another shirt. I wish Messi all the best, I like to see him happy. And now maybe we’re going to be rivals and we’re going to have to fit in.”

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