Laporta accuses La Liga chief of having 'sick obsession' with Barcelona

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has blasted La Liga chief Javier Tebas for having a "sick obsession" with the Catalan club and blames Tebas for Lionel Messi's emotional departure this summer.

On Sunday, Tebas accused Barcelona of effectively declaring an end to Messi's time through their refusal to back La Liga's controversial €2.7-million investment deal with CVC Capital Partners. The commercial arrangement was for 50 years and was designed to soften the financial blow of the coronavirus pandemic for the league and its clubs.

"I believe his comments are improper of the league president," Laporta said in response to Tebas' claims in an interview with Barca TV, with translation from ESPN's Adriana Garcia.

"Instead of looking for harmony and understanding, he always looks for conflict and confrontation. He has a sick obsession to see how he can harm Barca and its values, but we Catalans already know him."

Laporta instead shifted the blame onto Tebas for Barcelona's inability to keep hold of Messi. He said La Liga's inflexible wage cap meant the Argentine's future at the Camp Nou was untenable. The Barcelona president reported in August that the club has debts totaling €1.35 billion.

"He says that Messi has not stayed at Barca, but he has been the lead actor regarding not staying because of his excess of zeal," Laporta said. "The rest of the leagues have been more flexible (with respect to financial fair play) and have been able to keep their most relevant players."