Laporta also shared his thoughts on Messi's recent trip home and revealed he had no idea that the World Cup winner was planning to visit the stadium. He added: "I didn't know he was coming, but the Spotify Camp Nou is his home. When they explained how it happened, I think it was a sweet little spur-of-the-moment decision; he'd just finished dinner and felt like coming with some friends. 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."
Barcelona are hoping to hold a tribute to Messi once renovation work on the club's famous old stadium is finally complete. Messi was not afforded the chance to say goodbye properly to Barcelona fans when he hastily left for Paris Saint-Germain back in 2021 after the Catalans were unable to finance a new contract for the superstar. Laporta has since repeatedly said a tribute for Messi would be the perfect way to inaugurate the renovated Camp Nou, although no official plans have yet been announced.
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