Messi to be immortalised outside the new Camp Nou
The announcement by Laporta will be of scant surprise to any football fan. Messi enjoyed 21 years in Catalonia, originally joining the club as 13-year-old boy. During his time at the club he scored 672 goals in 778 appearances, winning 35 major honours and scooping seven Ballons d'Or.
Laporta also suggested a special event to commemorate Messi's time at the club will be arranged in the near future.
Laporta's comments on Messi tributes
On the statue, Laporta said: "All us culés would like to have a statue of Leo Messi at the Spotify Camp Nou. We’re working on it and, if the family wants, when we have the design we’ll talk with them."
Earlier this week, Barcelona's president also confirmed a special event once the stadium re-opens will also take place. He said: "It’s only right that Leo receives the most beautiful tribute in the world. When it’s finished, we’ll have a capacity of 105,000 fans, so we’d love to have him there.
"We’re working on the tribute and on ensuring that the best football in the world can be seen, and as part of the tribute, we’d like to offer Leo the tribute he deserves."
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Messi makes emotional return to the Camp Nou
The news comes after Messi made a surprise return to see the revamped stadium where he enjoyed so much success. The eight-time Ballon D'or winner shared images of him on the Camp Nou pitch to his Instagram account; the post has been liked more than 29million times.
The Argentinian spoke with deep emotion about his return. He told Spanish outlet SPORT: "I really want to go back there, we miss Barcelona a lot. My wife and I, the kids, are constantly talking about Barcelona and the idea of moving back. We have our house there, everything, so that's what we want. I'm really looking forward to going back to the stadium when it's finished because since I left for Paris, I haven't been back to Camp Nou, and then they moved to Montjuic."
What comes next?
The Inter Miami star shared his pain at the manner in which he left the club in 2021, suggesting he would want to wear the famous red and blue once again before he calls time on his glittering career. While a return would be out of the question at this point for the 38-year-old, as Laporta has indeed confirmed, a moment for him and the Barcelona fans to reflect on his many achievements should help provide some closure on the most successful relationship that has ever existed between a player and a club.