Lionel Messi, Pep Guardiola and Sergio Ramos Futures Discussed by Joan Laporta
It’s the time of year when everyone in the football firmament seems to have something to say on the future, and Barcelona presidential candidate Joan Laporta has been discussing Lionel Messi, Pep Guardiola and Sergio Ramos.
Laporta was speaking with TV channel Cuatro ahead of Barcelona's upcoming presidential elections, in which he is hoping to be voted in for the third time as Camp Nou chief. As you would expect, he was nothing but effusive in his praise for the club’s iconic No. 10, Messi.
“I hope Leo keeps running the show to a great extent,” he told Cuatro (h/t Marca). “He will never call for a coach's head. What we have to do is create a team in which he feels thoroughly at ease. We're talking about the best player in the history of football.”
In the latter stages of last season it was tough to imagine Messi donning any team colours other than the iconic Blaugrana jersey. But at the turn of the year there were reports of unrest between the Argentina international and coach Luis Enrique, with links to Chelsea surfacing, per Jack Wilson of the Daily Star.
But as we can see here courtesy of AddictedToBarca, the two seemed to end the season on pretty good terms, with Barcelona completing a historic treble:
""Messi is the best player in history. We will never get tired of watching him." - Luis Enrique pic.twitter.com/D7N59SaOPk
— Maro (@AddictedToBarca) June 24, 2015"
Indeed, as noted by Wilson’s previous piece, there was even some hushed talk of Barcelona sacking Enrique to placate Messi’s sour mood. But Laporta has insisted that although he remains on good terms with legendary Barca boss Pep Guardiola, he has faith in the current man.
“Luis Enrique will be the coach [next season],” said the presidential hopeful. “I'm on friendly terms with Pep and if he were interested in coming back, we'd talk about it.”
Although there are few suggesting Enrique should be relieved of his duties—the job he conducted last season was understatedly terrific, after all—it’d be intriguing to see how Messi would work with Guardiola if the two were reunited.
The pair had a tremendous relationship during Pep’s first stint as boss—under Laporta’s presidential reign, incidentally—but the player himself admitted ahead of Barcelona’s recent clash with Bayern Munich, who Guardiola now manages, that they’ve not spoken since the former Blaugrana midfielder left the Camp Nou back in 2012, per Sid Lowe of the Guardian.
But Guardiola hailed Messi as “the best player of all time” in the aftermath of that tie, per Miguel Delaney of ESPNFC.co.uk, and as we can see here courtesy of HuffPostUK Pictures, the former manager is still bewitched by his former talisman:
Laporta also insisted he had no intention of bringing Ramos to the Camp Nou, insisting he expects the Real Madrid defender to agree a new contract: “He's a Real Madrid icon and is negotiating a new contract. I've already got payback for Figo with Eto'o. As everyone knows, what goes around comes around.”
As noted here by Jon Fisher of Goal.com, Laporta’s fellow presidential candidate Jordi Majo had claimed that Ramos was offered to Barcelona.
Since then, there have been rumours aplenty linking the defender with a move away from the Santiago Bernabeu, the latest of which claim the 29-year-old has already agreed terms with Manchester United, per Carlos Forjanes and Agustin Martin of AS.
While a move for Ramos would be an extraordinary shock, you suspect the prospect of a Guardiola return may be something Laporta is keen on further down the line.
But as we can see here, the current manager actually fared better than Pep during his first season in charge, per OptaJose:
Guardiola was a superb fit for the managerial role, winning trophies with a swagger and imprinting the quintessential Barcelona philosophy across the continent.
But if Laporta does get elected again, while he will be keen to stamp his authority on the club, the current team should be left to build under Enrique. Provided Messi's mercurial genius remains in situ, you suspect the Camp Nou faithful will be delighted if that is indeed the case.
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