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Barcelona legend Lionel Messi and the club president Joan Laporta reportedly didn't speak with each other during the 2023 Ballon d'Or gala in Paris on Monday.
The two have had a frosty relationship since the 2023 Ballon d'Or winner bade goodbye to the club in tears in 2021 after Barca failed to extend Messi's deal owing to La Liga's wage cap rules.
There were talks this summer of Messi returning to his alma mater, but given the Blaugrana's continued financial woes, a return didn't materialise. Instead, the 36-year-old moved to Inter Miami in the MLS to embark on a new adventure.
A few months later, the two were at the 2023 Ballon d'Or gala in the French capital but didn't exchange words, as per SPORT. However, the Barca president didn't have the opportunity or the time to do so amidst reports of a planned tribute match for the star attacker at the renovated Camp Nou.
When Joan Laporta claimed to have 'recovered' strained relationship with Barcelona legend Lionel Messi
Joan Laporta returned for a second stint as Barcelona president when he won the 2021 presidential elections. However, months later, he oversaw the departure of Lionel Messi, the club's greatest player.
The pair have reportedly not been on talking terms since then, but earlier this year, Laporta said that he had spoken with Messi and mended fences. The 61-year-old told TV3 (via Eurosport):
"I have spoken with him recently to rectify the situation after I had to put the club before everything, even him, the best player in the world. It was a pleasant conversation. We have recovered the relationship we have had for many years."
Laporta was the club president when an all-conquering Pep Guardiola side won Barcelona's first continental treble in 2008-09, the first by a Spanish club. They would win a historic sextuple that year, winning the Supercopa de Espana, UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup later that year.
