"I spoke for five months, everything was ready, but the current club president said no." That's Xavi, in an interview with Romario, on why Lionel Messi never came back to Barcelona. Five months of work. Done by one man's decision.
Xavi was careful never to say Joan Laporta's name — he referred only to "the current president" throughout — but the target of his frustration is hardly a mystery. The same president, he added, is why his own coaching tenure ended the way it did: "I felt I was going to continue, that was agreed with the president, but there was a personal issue with someone at the club that prevented it."
What actually happened with Messi
This wasn't a vague flirtation. Xavi tried to bring back Dani Alves, Neymar, Pedro, and Messi during his spell as manager. Pedro and Neymar fell through on financial grounds — La Liga's financial fair play limits strangled both moves. But Messi's collapse was different. The deal was there. The president killed it.
Whether that decision looks smart or catastrophic depends on your perspective. Messi is 37, finishing his career in MLS with Inter Miami. The short-term spectacle of a return would have been enormous — and the commercial and emotional case was clearly strong enough for Xavi to pursue it for five months. Laporta apparently saw it differently.
For Barcelona's odds in any big competition, the irony is that the club is now thriving under Hansi Flick with the exact young core Xavi says he built. "We left a legacy of young players who are now the backbone of the team," he said. Raphinha, who Xavi personally pushed to sign and backed through a difficult spell, is now one of Europe's most dangerous attackers. Lamine Yamal — "a chosen one," per Xavi — is being compared to Messi himself.
On Messi, midfielders, and a World Cup he'd do it all for
Xavi was at his most expansive talking about players he loves. He named Pedri, Vitinha, Mac Allister, and Frenkie de Jong — "who is not always valued enough" — as the modern midfielders who actually understand the game rather than just move the ball. High praise from someone who spent 20 years defining what that position meant at the highest level.
On Messi, he didn't hold back: "There will be no one better than him." He also settled the 2010 Ballon d'Or debate cleanly — "I don't feel like I was robbed of one" — which shows either remarkable self-awareness or the fact that winning the World Cup that year left no room for grievance.
"Winning the World Cup was my best moment," he said, ranking it above four Champions League titles with Barcelona. That's the scale of what international football meant to him — and perhaps why he sees Spain as genuine contenders again now. "It would be fantastic to have two stars on the shirt."
As for his next job, he's open to Brazil. Open to anything, really. But the headline from this interview isn't about his future — it's about the door that was closed on Messi's past. Five months of work. One president. No deal.
