‘Who does Messi think he is!?’

Barcelona created Lionel Messi. He became a giant of world football in their shirt, one of the greatest players of all time, and cemented that status by winning the World Cup with Argentina. But Barcelona also drove Messi away. His salary — and it remains to be seen whether that was the only reason — did not fit into Joan Laporta’s calculations. Since then, the Argentine has visited Camp Nou only once, perhaps, over all these years, and even then, more or less as a tourist. And yet, some strange voices are now being heard in Barcelona. Former club president Joan Gaspart believes that Messi owes the club something. He is also angry that the Argentine refuses to commit to a date for the farewell match Barcelona want to organise for him.##LINKED_NEWS_58985##For Gaspart, there is absolutely no doubt that the match will take place and that it must happen, regardless of what Messi thinks about it…“Leo is undoubtedly the best footballer in the world, a great player. But there is one thing he must not forget: Barcelona is bigger than him, and he needs to be very, very careful. And I say this with all the great love I have for him, for the player I brought to the club when he was 13 and I was Barcelona’s president. I repeat, Messi needs to be careful, because this club is bigger than any individual” Gaspart said on the podcast “Nomes per a Culers”.##LINKED_NEWS_69666##Gaspart continued his tirade in the same vein.“To a large extent, Messi is the best footballer in the world thanks to Barcelona, and I’m not going to put a percentage on it. He must not forget that. That is the only reason I’m giving him a little more time, but the day will come when any obstacle Mr Messi puts in the way of a farewell match for Barcelona fans will start to bother me”.##TWITTER_<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🚨 𝗡𝗘𝗪: Xavi reveals that Lionel Messi was in talks to RETURN to Barcelona for FOUR MONTHS after winning the World Cup, before Joan Laporta decided against the move. 💔 🗣️ “I wanted him to return and we were in contact for four months. Then Laporta decided that Messi would not return. That is what happened, that is the truth.” “It was very difficult for me to tell Messi that we couldn’t do it. Messi was excited and I was excited, but suddenly Laporta decided it wasn’t going to happen.” “We needed him in the team and he was at his best after winning the World Cup. It was a shame.”</p>&mdash; The Touchline | 𝐓 (@TouchlineX) <a href="https://x.com/TouchlineX/status/2101652483252580747?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 20, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>##The former club president insists that it does not matter who is leading Barcelona when the time comes.“Whoever the president is at the time, Messi must come and say goodbye. If he sets a condition that there can be no farewell while Laporta is there, then there should be no farewell at all. Who does Messi think he is!? Does he think he can set conditions concerning Laporta? If that is his condition, then there should be no farewell,” Gaspart repeated.Still, the former Barca president still has a lot of affection towards Messi as he was the president when the Argentinian arrived at the club.“I say this out of the deep affection I have for a player I signed when he was 13 years old and I was the president of Barca” said Gaspart.LA LIGA – MATCHDAY 8FridayMalaga – Espanyol 1-1 (0-1)/Nino 90+3 – Zaragoza 13/SaturdayAlaves – Atl. Madrid 1-2 (1-1)/Boye 45+6 pen – Grimaldo 33, Romero 87/Barcelona – Getafe 3-0 (2-0)/Gordon 2, Jesus 30, Kounde 73/Real Madrid – Villareal 1-0 (0-0)/Diomande 62/SundayElche – Celta 0-0Real Sociedad – La Coruna 3-2 (2-0)/Martin 29, Zakharyan 34, Guedes 54 – Soriano 61, Hernandez 69 pen/Betis – Osasuna 5-2 (2-0)/Isco 10 pen, 67, Ezzalzouli 31, Budimir 48 og, Morante 90+6 – Budimir 51, De Haro 56/Santander – Valencia 2-2 (1-1)/Zabiri 32, Martin 47 – Raba 2, Otorbi 65/Monday22.00: (2.75) Levante (3.20) Sevilla (2.65)***odds are subject to change***##SOFASCORE_<iframe id="sofa-standings-embed-36-97268" src="https://widgets.sofascore.com/embed/tournament/36/season/97268/standings?widgetTitle=LaLiga&showCompetitionLogo=true&widgetTheme=light" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="width:100%!important; height:1123px!important;max-width:768px!important;"></iframe><div style="font-size:12px;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;text-align:left"> Standings provided by <a target="_blank" href="https://sofascore.com/">Sofascore</a> </div>##