The race for the Barcelona presidency officially got underway earlier this month when Joan Laporta submitted his resignation. He is hoping to be re-appointed, but one of the candidates standing in his way is Marc Ciria.
Ciria has centred his campaign around one man: Lionel Messi. The club icon has a somewhat fractured relationship with Laporta following his Barcelona exit in 2021, and Ciria sees himself as the person to benefit from this.
On Wednesday, Ciria’s team erected a large Messi banner in the centre of Barcelona, which read “Ganes de tornar-te a veure”, which translates into English as “Can’t wait to see you again”.
🚨 “CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU AGAIN”.
Presidential pre-candidate Marc Ciria has unveiled a banner featuring an image of Lionel Messi in central Barcelona. pic.twitter.com/3hmL1wyNnV
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) February 18, 2026
Ciria explains Messi banner
Ciria was speaking at the headquarters of Moviment 42, the name of his campaign party, later in the day, and as per MD, he explained the thought-process being the Messi banner being erected.
“We will do things well. That’s what I’ll tell you. This is a tribute, the tribute that was not paid to him when he was expelled from the club and that he deserves. We hope to live up to it. We hope that all the videos that are being sent by members and fans around the world will make you see that there is not only one speaker.
“Every time we meet partners they tell us that we have to give our all so that Leo Messi returns. Since 2021 we have been saying that one of the biggest strategic mistakes in the club’s history was sending off Leo Messi. And we have been saying since 2021 the need for Leo Messi to return. This tribute is based on passion, emotion and being clear that we are the good guys. Most members want to recover the excitement of having the best player in history at home, from where he never had to leave.”
