Former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has responded to Joan Gaspart's criticism targeting Messi. Bartomeu asserts that Joan Laporta bears responsibility for the rift between Messi and Barcelona, and the club's leadership should proactively work to repair their relationship with Messi as a top priority.

Days earlier, Gaspart criticized the Argentine star for linking his farewell ceremony to Laporta's involvement. However, Bartomeu offered a different perspective: the problem does not lie with Messi, but with the incumbent president's decision in 2021, and the club leadership should take the initiative to repair the relationship.

Gaspart had previously shared his views on a potential future farewell tribute to Messi on the "Sólo para Culés" show. The former executive director, who served as Barcelona president from 2000 to 2003, questioned why Messi would tie his return to Laporta's management and drew attention with a rhetorical question: "Who does he think he is?"

Bartomeu, who served as Barcelona president from 2014 to 2020, views the issue differently. In his opinion, Messi's rift with Barcelona was entirely due to Laporta's personal decision and had nothing to do with financial problems. Therefore, he does not expect Messi to make the first move; instead, he hopes the club will act first.

On reconciliation with Messi, Bartomeu stated: "Restoring a good relationship with Messi should be one of the club leadership's top priorities. Laporta should rebuild the close bond between Barcelona and the greatest player in football history. But to date, there has been no progress on this matter."

Bartomeu also rejected the "legacy issue" explanation that the current leadership had used to account for Messi's departure.

Bartomeu said: "Messi's departure from Barcelona was not due to a 'legacy issue,' but for other reasons."

The "legacy issue" he referenced was the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic affected all clubs, but Barcelona was hit particularly hard.

On why this was the case, Bartomeu stated: "Because Barcelona had the highest revenues at that time. Over 18 months, we lost 520 million euros in revenue."

However, Bartomeu contends that this revenue shortfall cannot explain Messi's departure, citing Barcelona's subsequent signing of Ferran Torres as evidence to support his point.

Bartomeu said: "If it were truly due to lack of resources and finances, Barcelona could not have signed Ferran Torres just months later." Bartomeu also mentioned that Xavi recently spoke about this matter. He hopes that one day Messi himself can clarify exactly what happened at that time.

Bartomeu stated: "I hope that someday, Messi himself can explain this matter."

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