Barcelona President, Joan Laporta has again defended allowing Lionel Messi to leave last summer although admitting that it was the saddest moments of his life.
Africa Today News, New York recalls that the Argentine forward ended up parting ways with the Blaugrana and joined Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer, as the Catalan club had to comply with LaLiga’s wage cap rules.
‘It is the saddest decision of all,’ Laporta told Barcelona’s official media on Tuesday.
‘I would never have wanted to make it, but I am not sorry either because we had to put the club above everything, which is what we did, even ahead of the best player. The situation was what it was.
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‘I had doubts after the first season, but out of respect for him we tried [to see how things would go],” added Laporta.
‘There came a time when I saw that another painful decision had to be made. If I had had to make it earlier? Yes. I had to have listened to the intuition.
‘I will always remember Koeman for the goal at Wembley, for a coach who had the courage to use young people. If he is hurt, I hope it will go away.’
Messi had gone on to win the men’s Ballon d’Or award for a record-extending seventh time just a few months after joining the French giants.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK