“I feel indebted to Messi”: Joan Laporta, the man who closed the doors of Barcelona and an unfinished business

He closed the doors and now he opens them? The president of FC Barcelona, Giovanna Laportahe confessed this Sunday that he felt “indebted” to Lionel Messi and wanted the Argentine’s history in the Catalan club to “not end”.

“I hope and hope that the chapter of Messi al Barsa does not end. It is our responsibility to ensure that this chapter which is still open, which has not been closed, has a moment where it can be done as it should have been done and has a far more splendid ending than it was, “Laporta said in statements to ESPN.

The Barcelona coach took advantage of a meeting with the managers of Real Madrid and Juventus in the United States on the Super League to talk, on his departure, about Messi, who in 2021 was to leave for Paris Saint-Germain after negotiations never reached port of fruition.

He was asked if he felt “in moral debt” with Rosario his response was resounding: “Yes. Morally, as Barcelona president, I think I did what I had to do. But also as president of Barcelona and on a personal level I believe I owe him“.

Barcelona celebrated against Real Madrid

With a spectacular goal from Brazilian Rahinha, Barcelona beat Real Madrid 1-0 in the early hours of Sunday in a vibrant friendly match played in Las Vegas in which several reinforcements such as Pole Robert Lewandowski made their debut.

Taking advantage of a sensational mistake by Eder Militao, Raphinha scored the winning goal in the 27th minute with a left-footed shot from outside the box directly into Courtois’s top corner.

Lewandowski, Barcelona’s great signing, played from the start and tirelessly sought the goal during the 45 minutes he was on the pitch.

With other reinforcements like Raphinha himself, Christensen and Kessié, as well as Ansu Fati’s return after injury, Barcelona have given an idea of ​​the competitive squad they want to be back next season.

“I think the result is short. We have been better than them, we have created more chances. We are on the right path”, celebrated the technical director of the Catalan giant, Xavi Hernández.

“Today we competed against the League and Champions League champion. Friendly, baby,” Xavi emphasized before praising Lewandowski.

“He fits very well, he is very humble. He has won almost everything in the world of football and has the humility to work hard for the team. For us it is an incredible sign,” he said.

Real Madrid, who were playing their first preseason game, also showed their two faces, German central defender Antonio Rüdiger and French midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni, in an eleven with various experiments.

Ancelotti suddenly reserved the usual three midfielders (Casemiro, Kroos and Modric) to test his three theoretical replacements of the future (Tchouaméni, Valverde and Camavinga).

“I tried to put the new ones so that they adapt to the team’s game,” Ancelotti explained later.

The Italian DT appreciated the efforts of his players but acknowledged the lack of offensive power they suffer from the absence of their football leader, Karim Benzema, who recently joined the team after a few additional days of vacation.

“He is the best in the world and there is no one who can replace him,” said Ancelotti, who tried Belgian Eden Hazard in that position without much luck.

The classic

This Spanish football classic was the fourth to be played abroad and the second in the United States. The previous meeting, in July 2017 in Miami, also ended with a 3-2 win for Barça. The setting for this occasion was the luxurious Allegiant Stadium, home to the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders, which was packed (65,000 seats).

Lewandowski, who missed the first friendly match of the preseason against Inter Miami (6-0), has been looking for his first goal as a blaugrana and after 11 minutes has already tested Courtois’ reflexes with a powerful shot. Immediately the Uruguayan Federico Valverde had the best chance of the match for the bianconeri, with a shot from outside the area that crashed with power on the post.

The first gift of the Juventus defense arrives at 20 ‘when the young Camavinga lets the astute Pedri snatch the ball into the area, putting Ansu Fati in an unbeatable position, who throws too much cross.

At 27 ‘Barça took advantage of another mistake by Militao, who passed the ball to Raphiha at the edge of the area to throw a left in the corner and make his debut as a scorer in a Clasico.

The former Leeds striker, Barcelona’s most expensive contract of the year (around € 65m), had already shone with one goal and two assists on Tuesday’s debut against Inter Miami.

Despite the friendly category, the clash had some moments of tension and a small brawl on the edge of the interval after a strong foul by Jordi Alba on Vinicius Jr., in one of the few actions in which the Brazilian winger managed to surprise in speed .

At half-time, both coaches started their exchange carousel (Courtois was the only starter to finish the match) and the duel slowed abruptly.

Marco Asensio had the best chance of merengue to equalize in a block with Lucas Vázquez which culminated in a slightly deflected low shot.

In the last 20 minutes it was Barcelona who had several clear options to increase the score on the counterattack, first in the one-on-one between Franck Kessié and Courtois and then with two shots by Ousmane Dembélé.

Both teams will resume their friendly in the United States on Tuesday, Real Madrid against América de México in San Francisco (California) and Barcelona against Juventus in Dallas (Texas).

Source: agencies