JOAN Laporta told Lionel Messi ‘I love you and Barcelona also loves you’ in a passionate plea to convince him to stay.
The Catalan club’s new president held his inauguration ceremony at the Nou Camp which Messi and his team-mates attended.
Laporta, 58, elected as Barca’s new president for a second spell last week, used his speech to try and convince Messi, 33, to sign a new deal.
He said: “We will, for example, try to convince Leo to stay at the club.
“Sorry Leo. I will do my best and he knows it! We’re going to try, of course, to convince him to stay here because he’s the best player in history.
“Sorry, but I love you and Barcelona also loves you. If this stadium were full, you wouldn’t want to go.”
Messi came close to leaving Barcelona last season before backing down and agreeing to see out his contract.
And he becomes a free agent this summer having initially thought he was ‘free to leave’ last year.
The Argentine great claimed the club went back on their word and said the only way he could leave is if the £600m release fee was met.
Messi said he didn’t want a legal battle with the club and his move to Manchester City collapsed.
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Lawyer Laporta, who spent seven years in the role until 2010, said addressing the club’s financial situation was also a priority and that he had faith in head coach Ronald Koeman.
He said: “Now we need to do things well. We’ll do what we can so you can be proud of Barcelona again.
“The economic situation is a priority for us.
“We need to make the club sustainable. We have a plan for this. We will take decisions in Barcelona’s best interests.
“Stability is key and we can improve all the sections to make them more competitive. But, we must maintain stability.”
During Laporta’s first seven-year tenure, Barca won four LaLiga titles, two UEFA Champions Leagues, one UEFA Super Cup and one FIFA Club World Cup.
On Koeman, he added: “Ronald, you have our confidence.
“We want to get back to making history in the Champions League, but this year we need to go out and try to win the league title and the Copa del Rey.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
