Barcelona presidential candidate rips into PSG over pursuit of Lionel Messi

Barcelona presidential candidate Joan Laporta has criticised PSG over the club's pursuit of Lionel Messi.

The French champions have made their intentions to sign the Argentinian superstar public, and that has not gone down well with the Barcelona higher-ups.

Lionel Messi had a high-profile fallout with the Barcelona hierarchy in the summer, which led the forward to request a move away from the club. However, Barcelona were quick to reject Messi's transfer request, and the Argentine was forced to begrudgingly stay at the club this season.

PSG have been monitoring Lionel Messi's situation at Barcelona and are keen to bring the forward to Paris when his contract runs out in June. PSG sporting director Leonardo admitted that the French champions would push to sign Lionel Messi when he does become available.

Leonardo told France Football, as reported by Marca, ""Great players like Messi will always be on PSG's shortlist, but now isn't the time to talk or dream about this. We are sitting at the table following this matter closely. Four months in football is an eternity, especially in this day and age, but our chair is reserved at the table."

This blatantly public approach to sign Lionel Messi has reportedly angered the Barcelona higher-ups, with the club'spresidential candidate Joan Laporta recently saying to Marca

"They are rude; I thought it was disrespectful. PSG's behaviour didn't please me at all. In my opinion, they disrespected Barcelona as a club. PSG are now a team to be reckoned with in Europe, but their attitude disappointed me."

PSG and Brazil superstar Neymar spent four fruitful years at Barcelona with Lionel Messi and has also publicly made it clear that he would like to reunite with his former teammate in Paris next season.

Laporta was bullish in his comments about the former Barcelona player, telling the Spanish publication,

"I understand perfectly that a player [Neymar] says he wants to play with Leo Messi. I would also like to play with him. But for a club representative to say that is out of place; it shows his lack of experience at this level. They still have a lot to learn in the world of football."

Laporta then went on to question whether PSG would adhere to the Financial Fairplay guidelines if they were to go out and sign Lionel Messi in the summer.

He exclaimed, "As far as I know, PSG had big (financial) losses last year," he stated. I would like to know if they are going to ignore the rules of financial fair play to sign him. If that happens, I hope that UEFA and FIFA will react firmly and that the Court of Arbitration for Sport will not be shaken when issuing their verdict."

Barcelona Presidential Candidate Laporta Criticizes Leonardo Over Recent Comments Regarding Messi https://t.co/r9VbKESzIK

— PSG Talk 💬 (@PSGTalk) January 25, 2021

It is clear that Barcelona are furious with PSG over this matter, and it will be interesting to see how the situation plays out.

Barcelona and PSG are due to clash in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 next month, so one can expect more fireworks as the tie approaches.

Barcelona make re-signing Lionel Messi a priority

Neymar could be the key in bringing Lionel Messi to PSG.

Joan Laporta ended his interview with Marca by stating that extending Lionel Messi's contract at the Nou Camp would be the club's biggest priority before the end of the season.

He told Marca, "We must make every effort to look after Messi and convince him to stay at Barcelona. A financial proposal adapted to the club's possibilities, but we will also have to be convincing with the sporting project."

El Mundo today, what a bomb. Leo Messi’s contract with Barcelona revealed on front page 🔴👇🏻 @elmundoes- €555,237,619 contract [4 years].- €138m per season fixed + variables.- €115,225,000 as ‘renewal fee’ just for accepting the contract.- €77,929,955 loyalty bonus. pic.twitter.com/FK3I34hJta

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 31, 2021

The Argentinian ace, Lionel Messi is entering the final five months of his current contract with Barcelona and is free to negotiate with other clubs over a move in the summer.