Leo Messi has become one of the main figures around which Barça's election campaign has revolved. Xavi Hernández's revelation that Mateu Alemany The following day, he confirmed that he had pitted the two presidential candidates vying for his favor against each other. Joan Laporta proposed erecting a statue in his honor, while Víctor Font suggested naming him honorary president, even suggesting he might return to play for Barcelona. Meanwhile, Messi remains silent. And he does so precisely when his image applauding Donald Trump has gone viral.

Xavi Llorens (Barcelona, ​​1958) is the quintessential unsung hero of Barça. A pioneer of the women's team – which he managed between 2006 and 2017 – Llorens has also been involved in futsal and youth football, allowing him to boast of having been Leo Messi's first coach at the club. "I've always been told that a pétanque team will be formed and that I'll have to start it. What I like is being in the shadows, doing less visible work, and going almost unnoticed," he explains to ARA. The coach – who has played various roles in the game of pétanque – laid the foundations for a Barça team that won three Champions League titles. "We just had to work and convince the players that what we wanted to do was win a lot of things," he says.

Leo Messi has become a secondary figure in the Barcelona elections. Although just a few days ago Marc Ciria presented his project for his return to the club with a large banner above Diagonal AvenueVíctor Font has announced his plan to bring Messi "home." His proposal includes seeing the greatest player in history back in action, but goes further: he wants him to be honorary president of Barça. "As everyone knows, the only obstacle to Messi's return is Joan Laporta," he asserted. According to the Barça presidential candidate, he presented the proposal to Messi's family over a year ago and it has the player's approval: "We've spoken with everyone." As Font presented it, his plan consists of three pillars: institutionally, they consider it important to bring back an "icon" who "exports Barça to the world." For this reason, the leader of Nosotros proposes that the members' assembly approve a statutory reform that would allow Messi to be named honorary president of the club, a lifetime position previously held only by Johan Cruyff. In the sporting arena, Font has stated that he wants Messi to "say goodbye to Barcelona fans on the pitch." However, his role will have to be defined according to "the player's wishes, the sporting director's criteria, and the coach's plans." "We mustn't forget that Messi has been deceived twice: in 2021, when he arrived in Barcelona to renew his contract, and in 2023, when he wanted to return to the club of his life with Xavi Hernández. After raising his hopes, the board once again closed the door on him."

A few months ago, Leo Messi's seemingly impromptu photo shoot at the new Camp Nou It shook the institutional peace of Joan Laporta's Barça. Four and a half years after his last visit to the Blaugrana facilities, in November the Argentine decided to revisit them, without informing anyone at the club. Accompanied by his teammate Rodrigo de Paul and his ever-present advisor Pepe Costa, he stood at one of the guard booths surrounding the grounds and asked the security personnel for permission to access the pitch. Wish granted. It was Messi knocking on the door. The image stirred consciences: it directly appealed to Barça nostalgia and, indirectly, highlighted the breakdown in relations between the Argentine star and President Laporta, who made Messi's continuity a broken promise in 2021. Two years later, even Hernández failed to make it possible.

It was early 2009 when a seventeen-year-old striker appeared in the old Montilivi press room, demolished years before, accompanied by a translator. His name was Hiroshi Ibusuki, and he was a promising young player for Girona who went viral without the need for social media, which was still in its infancy. The club's official website received a flood of Japanese visitors who crashed the internet asking what on earth this club was, a club then experiencing its first season in the Second Division after fifty years.

Leo Messi never tires of making history. At 38 years old and with over forty titles to his name, the Argentine has achieved a new milestone in his career: winning Inter Miami's first-ever MLS Cup. It was a particularly special match because it marked the final game for Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets in professional football. After sharing many years in the Barcelona dressing room – one of the greatest teams in football history – the three embarked on one last dance in the United States. They were joined by Luis Suárez and led by Javier Mascherano. Today, two of them brought an era to a close. The connection between Messi and Alba, or the control of the game that Sergio Busquets provided as the team's guiding light, is over. However, they did so in the only way they know how: by lifting a trophy after defeating the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1, with two assists from the Rosario native.

The Lionel Andrés Messi's seemingly impromptu photo shoot Messi's visit to the new Camp Nou has shaken the institutional peace of Joan Laporta's Barça. Four and a half years after his last visit to the Blaugrana facilities, the Argentine decided to revisit them, now that they are undergoing extensive renovations, without informing anyone at the club. Accompanied by his teammate Rodrigo de Paul and his ever-present advisor Pepe Costa, he arrived at one of the guard booths surrounding the stadium and asked for permission to access the pitch. According to sources close to him, the uniformed personnel granted the request immediately, which contradicts the version released from the Barça offices, where it is claimed that the club, minutes after being informed of the attempt, allowed Messi to even set foot on the pitch, that at that hour he was inside the stadium.

Joan Laporta breaks his silence after Leo Messi's whirlwind visit to Barcelona and the new Camp Nou. The Barça president admitted he knew nothing about the legend's visit, but said that "Camp Nou is his home." "It was a spontaneous act, a true Barça gesture. I think it was a charming outburst," he said. However, in an interview with The morning of Catalunya RàdioHe confessed to not having sent him any messages after the visit and said that his relationship with him is "correct": "He plays for Inter Miami, but he will always be loved by all Barcelona fans." Regarding a possible tribute to the Argentine to inaugurate the stadium, once Camp Nou is at its full capacity of 105,000 spectators, Laporta has shown himself open to it, although he assured that for the moment they are working to finish the construction. In any case, the president admits that the striker's departure from Barça "was not as I would have liked" but insists that he "does not regret it," since "nothing and no one is above Barça." On the other hand, regarding a possible return of the footballer to play for Barça, even if only for six months – and thus put an end to his professional career – Laporta says that "making these speculations is not realistic." Laporta gives clues as to when the Barça elections will be held

Laporta's term ends this season, and he has decided to run for re-election. The question is when the elections will be held. The president hasn't answered the question, although he has hinted, as reported by ARA, that he is considering holding them as soon as possible. According to the club's statutes, they must take place between March 15th and June 15th. But he doesn't want them to coincide with a hypothetical Champions League semi-final – scheduled for May. Thus, although he hasn't explicitly stated it, it's understood that the elections could be before Sant Jordi's Day.

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The scene lasts only 22 seconds, but it will remain in the protagonists' memories for the rest of their lives. Nil and Gisela, two lifelong Barcelona fans, were celebrating the start of their relationship on Sunday night on Juan XXIII Avenue in Barcelona when they suddenly froze at what was happening behind them. Gisela noticed first, and Nil quickly turned his head to confirm that what seemed impossible was very real: Leo Messi walked past Rodrigo de Paul, his teammate at Inter Miami and in the Argentine national team, and with Pepe Costa, Messi's friend, advisor and companion since his time at Barça.

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Leo Messi's clandestine return to Camp Nou made me think of those novels that tell you the ending in the first paragraph, like The tunnel by fellow Argentinian Ernesto Sábato. It only takes 14 words to inform us that a murder has taken place, who the murderer is, and who the victim is. However, this tells us almost nothing, and a whole novel remains to be told. Nor does the image of Messi posing distractedly on the Camp Nou pitch explain much to us.With a touristy air. It's simply a matter of revealing the end of the story in the first paragraph to grab the reader's attention. The images were an emotional explosion, but at first, they didn't resolve any of the core questions.

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Leo Messi caught everyone off guard, including the club, when he posted on his Instagram account Monday morning about his nighttime visit to Camp Nou with a message proclaiming his love for Barça, but which also carried a deeper meaning. No matter how much the club now tries to portray Messi's stroll through the stadium under construction as normal, it doesn't hold water, because the first sign that it was anything but normal is that the club was unaware of the player's intentions. And this isn't just any player; he's the best in history, who left in tears after being sacked by Laporta, and who continues to make it clear that the wound is still fresh.

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The big question that many Barça fans have been asking themselves this Monday morning after See the images of Messi at Camp Nou The question is whether the Argentine had entered with Barça's approval or behind the club's back. Barça's official version is as follows: "Messi arrived and requested permission to access the Camp Nou training ground from Limak security personnel. The company forwarded the inquiry to FC Barcelona, who had no problem accepting the request. Messi will always be more than welcome, so there was no issue in authorizing his visit." About two hours after Messi's post, Barça posted another message on the club's Instagram account with a photo of the footballer on the Camp Nou pitch accompanied by the text "Always welcome home, Leo."

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Since leaving Barcelona, the Messi family has never hidden their love for Barça and Catalonia. Now, from Miami, Lionel Messi's family celebrated the thirteenth birthday of their eldest son, Thiago, surrounded by Barça crests and references to the club. And not even the star player could resist. Neither the Argentine nor his wife, Antonella Roccuzzo, have made any effort to hide it. In fact, quite the opposite: they both shared pictures of the celebration on their Instagram accounts. In them, there's even an inflatable with the Barça crest and balloons in what appear to be the colors of the flag.

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Lionel Andrés Messi made some surprising statements, even more so after the recital he gave this morning against Venezuela and the fantastic path he has led in the World Cup qualifiers, which end next Tuesday. There are only a few months left until the 2026 World Cup, but the star of thealbiceleste doubts his presence: "I don't think I'll play in another World Cup, it's logical that it won't happen, but here we are, I'm hopeful and eager. But it's day by day, game by game." It's worth noting that he'll be 39 when the event arrives. What seems clear, however, is that there will be no more home qualifying matches. This Friday's was the last.

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Throughout Barça's history, the number 10 shirt has passed through several hands. after Ansu Fati's departure from MonacoThe number attributed to the best player in the squad goes to Lamine Yamal. Another gift to celebrate the Rocafonda winger's 18th birthday.

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There are several trading cards on the table. Lamine Yamal, Leo Messi, Alexia Putellas. Any two people exchanging cards, someone observing the scene from a distance might coldly summarize. But the cards that Ferran Roig (Barcelona, 1977) has left on the table are as if he had drawn ace after ace in a poker game. Some are worth thousands of euros. And those of Lamine Yamal have only just begun to increase in price this year. The one from the Rocafonda neighborhood of Mataró It also drives collectors crazy.

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Leo Messi has scored more than 800 goals throughout his career, the most recent just a few days ago against Minnesota in Major League Soccer (MLS). Many of them were decisive in winning titles or creating historic moments; some are remembered for their beauty, others for their brilliance, others were not scored while defending the Argentine national team, and others, with Barça, Paris Saint-Germain or Inter Miami.

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It took me seventeen years to know that October 31, 2007, would be one of the most incredible days of my life. That Wednesday, after FC Barcelona's first team training session, photojournalist Joan Monfort and I were waiting for Leo Messi in a locker room at the old Camp Nou. We went to take a photograph of God/God (with or without an accent, as you wish) with a baby that would illustrate the January issue of a charity calendar we invented at the newspaper. SportThe goal was to raise awareness of the invaluable work done by Unicef ​​​​and the Casal de Infants del Raval, and who better to do it than Messi, Ronaldinho, Henry, Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta and company.

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Only Horacio Gaggioli, Josep Maria Minguella and Carles Rexach know what exactly happened at a table on the terrace of the Reial Societat de Tenis Pompeia chalet on December 14, 2000. No one else was present during the supposed three-way signing of the napkin role that has remained in the history of Barça as the piece that morally confirmed (it did not have legal validity) the arrival of Leo Messi to Barça at 13 years old. The story has always been that this action served to reassure the Messi family, staying at the Hotel Catalonia Barcelona Plaza at that time, given the doubts that the club had regarding the signing of the Argentine. But sources from the Messi family explain to ARA that at that time they did not have access to this napkin, which It is topical again because it is being auctioned at Bonhams.

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Leo Messi and his large family are looking for a house in Paris.A week after returning from holiday in Ibiza thinking that he would sign his new contract with Barça and that he would take part in the team's presentation on Gamper's Day, the Argentine has already started training with PSG, the club that, taking advantage of the hardships at Camp Nou, has quickly opened the doors for him to continue to aspire to win titles. He already hugs his friend Neymar Jr., who had been trying to return to Barcelona for years, or his evergreen opponent Sergio Ramos, who like him is leaving La Liga on a free transfer to join Nasser al-Khelaifi's Franco-Qatari giants.

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