The great game of Lionel Messi that left good feelings for Barça and Joan Laporta

03/10/2021 8:25 PM

• Clarín.com

• sports

Updated 03/10/2021 8:25 PM

Sometimes, not everything is what it seems at first glance.

The elimination in the knockout stages of the Champions League for the first time in the last 14 years could be thought, a priori, as a huge disappointment for Barcelona and as one more impulse to move Lionel Messi away from Catalonia.

However, the good response of the Blaugrana team in the 1 to 1 against Paris Saint-Germain in the Parc des Princes and a new demonstration of the captain's leadership,

added to the electoral triumph of Joan Laporta last weekend

, left floating in the air the feeling that the Rosario will not carry his suitcases in the middle of the year other than for his vacations.

In a team that was the opposite of the one that had dragged itself three weeks ago in the first leg duel,

Leo

was the Blaugrana standard bearer in the attempt of a comeback that sounded like a chimera after the 4 to 1 at the Camp Nou.

Although in numbers the feat was far behind, Barça was vastly superior to the European runner-up

and made plenty of merits to, at least, take a victory from the French capital.

A dazzling goal in the first half (his 120th in the Champions League), a couple of chances to add another shout to his account, his inalienable role as a beacon of his team's attack and the permanent encouragement of his teammates

marked a match that left good feelings for Messi

, beyond the penalty that the Costa Rican Keylor Navas stopped him at the end of the first chapter.

No, but according to Mbappé_7 and Haalandismo, Messi is a retired player!

The best player in the history of this sport, BURROS.

pic.twitter.com/JdzrZlXCyi

- Fan of Desabato (@ fandelchavit0) March 10, 2021

The team's response conformed to Ronald Koeman, who saw in that performance a solid argument to imagine a future with him on the bench and with

the Catalans'

player-franchise

on the field.

"

Leo

must decide his future, nobody can help him in this, but he has seen for a long time that this Barça is on the right track.

And with the changes we have made, with the youngsters who are growing, he cannot have doubts about the future of this team,

”said the Dutch coach after the game.

Those positive feelings seem to extend to the new leadership of the club, whose head,

Joan Laporta, followed the meeting from the main box of the Parc des Princes with Nasser Al-Khelaïfi

, president of PSG.

Laporta traveled to Paris with Carles Tusquets, current president of the club's Management Board;

Rafa Yuste, future sports vice president;

and other leaders in his first activity as president, although he has not yet assumed office.

Ángel Di María hugs Lionel Messi at the end of the match between Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain in the Parc des Princes.

(Photo: Franck Fife / AFP)

Perhaps the most complex and pressing task facing the new president

will be managing the renewal of Messi's contract, which expires on June 30.

What just a few weeks ago appeared as an impossible mission today seems to be closer to being completed.

For now, the captain voted last Sunday for the first time as a partner of Barcelona, ​​in what seemed another sign of commitment to the institution.

And the triumph of Laporta, the man who led the club's destiny during

Leo's

most glorious years

in Catalonia, only reinforced that illusion of continuing to see him dressed as a Barça player.

In this operation to guarantee the idol's permanence, one of the hooks may be the hiring of Sergio Agüero, one of the closest friends that soccer gave Messi.

In the last hours,

Laporta would have reactivated the contact that he had initiated during the electoral campaign with Kun

, whose contract with Manchester City also ends in the middle of this year.

Look also

Paris Saint Germain vs Barcelona, ​​for the Champions League: result, goals and summary

Atlético de Madrid vs Athletic Club de Bilbao, for the Spanish League: goals, summary and result