Laporta sends emotional message to Messi after Princess of Asturias Award: “You made your club greater”

Joan Laporta has publicly celebrated the news that Leo Messi has been named winner of the 2026 Princess of Asturias Award for Sports. The FC Barcelona president posted an emotional message on X in which he praised the Argentine's footballing career and human qualities, while also highlighting the deep bond between the player and the club where he became a global icon.

• Laporta congratulated Messi on X after the Argentine won the 2026 Princess of Asturias Award for Sports.
• The Barcelona president described Messi as an essential part of the club's history.
• Andrés Iniesta and Jorge Valdano also praised the former Barça star on Spanish television.
• Valdano said Argentina was lucky to produce two football geniuses: Maradona and Messi.

Joan Laporta's full message to Leo Messi

The Barcelona president held nothing back when addressing the club's all-time leading goalscorer. Laporta described the award as well-deserved recognition for a career that goes beyond sport and reaches into the personal sphere. He also stressed that Messi's talent helped make FC Barcelona even greater, calling it the club of his life.

With your talent you helped make FC Barcelona even greater, the club of your life, yesterday, today and always. Messi and Barça, Barça and Messi, a shared success story of which all Barcelona fans are deeply proud.

The relationship between Laporta and Messi has had complicated chapters since the player's departure in 2021, but the president has recently adopted a conciliatory tone and has repeatedly paid tribute to the most important figure in the club's modern history.

What the Princess of Asturias Award means for Messi's career

The Princess of Asturias Award for Sports is one of the most prestigious honours in the Spanish-speaking world, recognising individuals and institutions that have left a lasting mark on global sport. For Messi, it comes after a career packed with collective and individual success, including eight Ballon d'Or titles and a World Cup triumph with Argentina in 2022.

The announcement has sparked widespread reaction across the football world, especially in Spain, where the Argentine built the bulk of his legend wearing the Barcelona shirt.

Laporta reflects on the unique connection between Messi and Barcelona

In an interview broadcast on Spain's Telediario evening news programme, Laporta went further and reflected on what Messi's arrival meant for the Catalan club. The president described an extraordinary connection between a one-of-a-kind footballer and a club whose playing identity fitted perfectly with the Argentine's qualities. That partnership, he said, defined an era and shaped a particular way of understanding football.

Iniesta and Valdano join the tributes to the Argentine

Andrés Iniesta, who shared a dressing room with Messi for more than a decade at Barcelona, also appeared in the television segment and expressed his gratitude for having played alongside the forward. The Spanish midfielder said he felt lucky and privileged that someone like Leo existed, words that underline the admiration he inspires among those who knew him up close.

For me it has been a privilege, a joy, that a person like Leo has existed.

Jorge Valdano, a World Cup winner with Argentina in 1986, offered a broader perspective on the Messi phenomenon. The former striker and analyst recalled that for a long time it seemed impossible to move beyond the pedestal on which his country had placed Diego Armando Maradona. He considered it almost unfair that one nation could produce two geniuses of such magnitude, and celebrated that the improbable had become reality.

Messi's legacy at FC Barcelona after his playing days

Although Messi left Barcelona in the summer of 2021 to join Paris Saint-Germain and later Inter Miami, his presence still looms large at Camp Nou and among the club's supporters. The 778 official goals and 35 titles he won in the blaugrana shirt make him the greatest reference point in the club's history.

Laporta's message reinforces the idea that the emotional bond between both parties remains intact, regardless of the circumstances surrounding his exit. The president's wish for the shared story to be eternal also sounds like a bridge toward a future institutional reunion.