Transfer Centre

Barcelona candidate hits out at "disrespectful" Paris Saint-Germain over Lionel Messi pursuit

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 28 January 2021

Barcelona could take legal action against Paris Saint-Germain over their pursuit of Lionel Messi should Joan Laporta take over as president.

Barcelona presidential candidate Joan Laporta has threatened legal action against Paris Saint-Germain over their "disrespectful" pursuit of Lionel Messi.

The Argentina international has been strongly linked with a move to PSG as he enters the final five months of his Camp Nou contract.

Speaking earlier this month, the French giants' sporting director Leonardo publicly admitted that he would like to bring Messi to the Parc des Princes in the summer.

However, Laporta is unhappy with PSG's attempts to unsettle Messi while he is still officially under contract with Barca.

"It is disrespectful to Barca that clubs like PSG publicly say they are going to sign Messi," he told reporters. "This coming from a club-state that have bypassed the rules.

"We cannot allow clubs and states the luxury of destabilising another club.

"In that sense, we will have to speak with UEFA and FIFA to avoid such actions. PSG must abstain from [talking about Messi].

"It is out of place for another club to speak about him. And, at the moment, there is no president in place to respond to this lack of respect."

Laporta is up against Victor Font and Toni Freixa in the race to succeed Josep Maria Bartomeu, with the rescheduled election to take place on March 7.