Joan Gaspart has drawn a line in the long-running tribute standoff: if Lionel Messi conditions his Barcelona farewell on Laporta stepping aside, Gaspart will stay away.
The warning came on the Barcelona-focused programme Solo para culés, where the former club president vented at the five-year wait for an official tribute to the forward since his 2021 exit.
“If he waits until Laporta is not in charge, I will not attend that gala,” Gaspart said.
The intervention lands five days after Messi’s emotional international farewell on 6 October. He scored a late penalty in Argentina’s 3-0 win over Benin at the Monumental in Buenos Aires, with more than 85,000 supporters in attendance for his 208th and final cap.
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‘He must not forget’
Gaspart told the show that the player’s stature does not override the institution.
“Barcelona is bigger than him, and he should be careful,” he said.
“Whoever the club president is, he must come and say goodbye to Barcelona.”
Messi left Barcelona in 2021 after contract talks collapsed, and the relationship with Laporta has been strained since. Laporta was re-elected for a fourth term on 15 March 2026 with 68.18% of the vote, with his new mandate running until 2031.
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Great-grandchildren picked Yamal
Gaspart also offered a reminder of how fast Camp Nou’s affections have shifted. He said he recently asked his great-grandchildren whose name they wanted printed on their Barcelona shirts, expecting to hear Messi.
“Grandpa, Lamine, of course! Who is the other player you mentioned?” he recalled their reply.
Lamine Yamal, 19, has worn Barcelona’s number 10 shirt this season and was named La Liga Player of the Season in 2025-26.
No tribute scheduled
Barcelona have not announced any date for a Messi farewell ceremony. The forward’s contract with Inter Miami runs to the end of 2028.
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