Lionel Messi slams 'lies' of Joan Laporta meeting after Ballon d'Or ceremony
- Messi won his eighth Ballon d'Or on Monday
- The Argentine forward admitted he would be keen to say goodbye to Barcelona
- A report claimed he met with Barcelona president Laporta after the ceremony
By Tom Gott
Lionel Messi has hit out at "lies" of a meeting with Barcelona president Joan Laporta after Monday's Ballon d'Or ceremony.
Messi won his eighth Ballon d'Or and, during the press conference that followed, admitted he longs for the chance to say goodbye to the club properly, having been forced to depart in 2021 as Barcelona's financial problems finally caught up with them.
Talk of a return to Barcelona was then further fuelled by a report from Gerard Romero, who claimed Messi and Laporta spoke after Monday's ceremony to discuss a tribute match at Camp Nou.
Messi, however, was unimpressed with the claims, taking to social media to write: "You lie once again."
Romero quickly apologised for his error, having previously been called out by Messi for spreading misinformation in the past.
"A thousand apologies to all, and a thousand more," he replied. "I have been fooled again with something related to Leo. I'm not learning. I'm sorry.
"I accept everything you tell me today and I promise that we will work to ensure it does not happen again."
Laporta has publicly discussed his desire to pay tribute to Messi when Camp Nou reopens for the 2024/25 campaign and has spoken about such an event with Messi's family in the past, with Barcelona still working on plans behind the scenes.
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