Barcelona are a little over two months away from the return of Joan Laporta to the presidency this summer, as he begins a fourth mandate. In March, Laporta ran out victorious in the club elections, winning nearly 70% of the vote and beating out rival candidate Victor Font for a second election in a row.
That was despite the fact that Font had the backing of Xavi, who also made several controversial claims about Laporta. The pair worked together between 2021 and 2024, with Xavi in charge as manager for 2.5 seasons, delivering a La Liga title and a Spanish Supercup. Things ended on bad terms though, and Xavi was originally held up as the main face behind Font’s campaign in 2021.
Xavi called Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez
Following the release of the interview when Xavi claimed that Laporta had sabotaged Lionel Messi’s return to the club in 2024, Catalunya Radio have claimed that he also tried to get Messi and Luis Suarez involved in the elections. They say that he set up a videocall with Messi and Suarez in Miami, and tried to persuade them to show public support for Xavi’s claims in the interview. This of course would have had an impact on the elections, at the time, a week away.
The response from Messi and Suarez
On Messi’s part, no such backing arrived. As has been the case since he was a player at Barcelona, he did his best to remain isolated from any campaigning. Suarez did like Xavi’s post on social media, but Messi explained that he preferred not to get involved. Privately, he did congratulate Xavi on the interview he had given.
🚨 BREAKING: Lamine Yamal will be out for 4-6 weeks, and will miss the remainder of the season with FC Barcelona, but he will be able to feature in the World Cup with Spain. [@Jordigil] pic.twitter.com/atNDHcD4yG
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) April 23, 2026
Former Sporting Director Mateu Alemany has backed up Xavi’s story, but Laporta has denied this to be the case, accusing both of lying. Xavi also claimed that it was Laporta’s ex-brother-in-law, Alejandro Echevarria, who was calling the shots at the club, rather than the elected president.
