Barcelonan President, Joan Laporta, has disclosed the kernel of a discussion he had with father of football great, Lionel Messi, over his move to Miami.
Laporta said he found the decision to join Miami instead of Barca strange but noted that the father wanted him to avoid pressure.
Laporta said in an interview with ESPN: ‘… We respect his decision and we wish the best for him. We want the best for our players. He came to Barcelona as a kid, 14-years-old, and he spent 20 years with us. I hope he can be very happy in Miami.’
But he ended up in North America and continues to excite fans of Inter after two impressive performances so far.
‘It was very close,’ Laporta added on discussions over a return. ‘We had to manage our financial fair play situation so we needed time.
‘At the end, we reached an agreement with LaLiga that authorized us to add him to the squad.
‘But Leo was coming from a situation in Paris where he was under a lot of pressure. His father told me that he needed a place where he won’t be under pressure and at Barca that would not be the case because of the meaning of the return of our hero.’
