Lionel Messi’s brother, Matias, has sparked controversy with his recent comments regarding a potential return to Barcelona for the legendary forward. In a recent interview on his son’s Twitch channel, Matias stated that any return to the Camp Nou was off the table unless current Barcelona president Joan Laporta stepped down.
“I have a SPORT cutting that says ‘Messi should return to Barcelona’ and I’ve put underneath it ‘Hahaha’. We are not going back to Barcelona, and if we do, we are going to have a good clearout, kicking-out, among others, Joan Laporta who is ungrateful after all that Messi did for Barcelona.”
Matias Messi
Matias went on to criticize the Barcelona fanbase, claiming that they failed to support Lionel and opted to side with Laporta instead. He also suggested that the Catalan club only became known around the world due to his brother’s success at the club.
People [in Barcelona] did not support him. People should have gone out to do a march or something, let Laporta leave and Messi stay. The Catalans are traitors,” he exclaimed. Barcelona started to become globally recognised because of Messi, before that people only knew Madrid.”
Matias Messi
However, soon after his comments caused a stir on social media, Matias took to Instagram to apologize for his remarks. He stated that his comments were made in the heat of the moment and did not reflect his true feelings.
“I want to vindicate myself for what I said on social networks, I was with my son and friends making a joke. How am I going to think that of a club as big as Barcelona and its history, which has given so much to both my family and Leo.”
Matias Messi
Despite the controversy, Lionel Messi has been thriving at Paris Saint-Germain this season. The forward has been in impressive form, scoring 15 goals and registering 14 assists in 24 games in all competitions. He also led Argentina to their first World Cup victory since 1986, further solidifying his status as one of the greatest footballers of all time.
While a return to Barcelona may be off the cards for now, the world of football will continue to closely follow Messi’s career and eagerly anticipate his next move.