La Liga president Javier Tebas has welcomed Lionel Messi’s decision to stay at Barcelona and hopes the Argentine superstar will see his career “in our competition”.
Messi, 33, told the Spanish giants that he intended to leave with a free transfer, before making a dramatic U-turn in an explosive interview with Goal Spain on Friday.
“We wanted Messi to be with us obviously, and now he has decided to stay in La Liga and in fact it is a great relief,” Tebas said in a video conference to announce the start of the La Liga season.
Tebas backed Barça’s position that the deadline for Messi to inform the club of his decision to leave for nothing expired on June 10. The player and his representatives argued that, due to the three-month pause imposed by the coronavirus, only the 2019/20 season ended after the Champions League final on August 23, and that he had notified the Catalans 10 days in advance when he informed them by burofax on August 25 of his intentions.
“He is the best player in the history of football. He spent 20 years with us here and as president of La Liga I would very much like him to end his days in our competition, ”added Tebas.
Although happy that Messi represents La Liga, Tebas argued that the brand was bigger than any individual or club.
“We have been working for many years to make La Liga a brand,” he said. “It has to be above individual players and clubs, because we want to bring entertainment and passion to fans both locally and internationally.
“Anyway, we have known for 20 years in La Liga that we had Messi and we were worried if we had to lose him. Now we are very happy that he is with us and does not go to another ”.
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Messi in numbers
6 – Most Copa del Rey finals scored in: 2009, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019. Reuters
34 – Most trophies won as a Barcelona player. Reuters
513 – Most games won with Barcelona. EPA
48 – Most hat-tricks scored in all competitions for Barcelona. EPA
15 – First player to score in 15 consecutive UEFA Champions League seasons. AFP
7 – Most Pichichi trophies (top scorer in La Liga): 2010, 2012-2013, 2017-2020. Reuters
37 – Most opponents scored against in La Liga history. AFP
The only player who will be the top scorer and top provider of assists in the same season: (2018-20). EPA
361 – Most La Liga wins. EPA
16 – Most dribbles completed in a UEFA Champions League game. AFP
27 – Most league games scored in one season (38 games): 2012-13. EPA
19 – Most teams scored against in one season: 2012-13. AFP
75 – Most games played in the Copa del Rey with Barcelona. AFP
47 – Most goals scored from free kick in official Barcelona competitions. Reuters
38 – Most stadiums scored in La Liga. Reuters
485 – Most games in La Liga by a foreign player. AFP
150 – First player to reach 150 assists in La Liga. AFP
4 – Most Man of the Match awards won in a FIFA World Cup: in 2014. AFP
6 – Only player to score twice in six different club competitions in a calendar year: 2011 and 2015. Reuters
First player to score consecutively against all teams in a professional league (2012-2013). EPA
4 – Only player to provide at least one assist in four World Cup tournaments. AFP
13 – Highest number of appearances in FIFPro World11: (2007-2019). EPA
11 – Most appearances on the cover of a soccer player video game. AFP
334 – Fastest player to reach 300 goals in the top five leagues in Europe. AFP
10 – Most Man of the Match awards won in Copa América matches. AP Photo
115 – Most goals scored for a single club in the UEFA Champions League. AFP
435 – Fastest player to reach 400 goals in the five biggest leagues in Europe. AFP
5 – Most goals scored in a European Cup / Champions League game against Bayer Leverkusen in 2012. AFP
110 – Most dribbles completed in World Cup final. AFP
123 – Fastest player to reach 100 goals in the UEFA Champions League. AFP
68 – Most goals scored in the UEFA Champions League group stage. AFP
5 – Only player to provide at least one assist in five Copa América tournaments. AFP
3 – Most UEFA / UEFA.com season goals: 2014-15, 2015-16, 2018-19. AFP
6 – Best Player in La Liga Award: 2009-2013; 2015. AFP
12 – Top Support Provider in America’s Cup History. AP Photo
21 – More goals in the CONMEBOL FIFA World Cup qualifiers. AFP
6 – Most of the Ballon d’Or: 2009-2012; 2015; 2019. AFP
Messi is the only player to score in his teens, 20s and 30s at the World Cup. He first scored at the 2006 FIFA World Cup when he was 19 years old in Argentina’s 6-0 win over Serbia and Montenegro, then five times in 2014 and once in 2018. AFP
6 – Award for Best FIFA World Player / Best FIFA Male Player: 2009–2012; 2015; 2019. AFP
444 – Most goals in La Liga. AFP
50 – goals in a La Liga and European league season. Reuters
8 – More hat-tricks of the Champions League. AFP
183 – Most assists in La Liga. AFP
7 – La Liga Best Forward Titles (2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2014-15, 2015-16). AFP
36 – More hat-tricks in La Liga. AFP
300 – Most assists recorded in soccer history. AFP
91 – goals in a calendar year (2012) – 79 with Barça (59 in La Liga, 13 in the Champions League, 5 in the Copa del Rey and 2 in the Spanish Super Cup) plus 12 with the Argentine team.
6 – European Golden Boot for the top scorer in European football. AFP
60 – The only player to have scored more than 60 goals in all competitions in 2 consecutive seasons: (2011-12 and 2012-13). AFP
10 – Only player to score more than 40 goals in 10 consecutive seasons. AFP
79 – Top scorer in all club competitions in a calendar year (2012). AFP
21 – Longest scoring streak in a national league: 33 goals in 2012-13. Reuters
7 – Only player to score in seven official competitions in a calendar year: 2015, in La Liga, Copa del Rey, UEFA Champions League, Copa América, UEFA Super Cup, Spanish Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup. Reuters
70 – Argentina’s all-time top scorer. EPA
27 – Top goalscorer in El Clásico. EPA
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The new La Liga season begins on Friday with Athleitc Bilbao taking on Granada, and Tebas said it was important for soccer in Spain to return to compete with other lucrative leagues in Europe.
“We want La Liga to be competitive like the Premier League, Bundesliga and Serie A,” he said, stating that the League is now seen by audiences in remote countries like Greenland and Mongolia.
“We are turning 90 years old and we have a lot of experience but we still have to continue growing, and that is what we are looking at, the future.
“La Liga is part of international entertainment. We want to attract millions of fans in Spain and around the world every Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Former Barcelona midfielder and Spain midfielder Andrés Iniesta, a La Liga ambassador who now practices his trade with Japan’s Vissel Kobe, said the excitement was already building ahead of the new season.
“It’s like any other season with teams starting from scratch and building their expectations,” he said.
“It will again be a tremendously competitive and exciting season as it continues to happen year after year.
“We are very excited for the season to begin after the global pandemic. There is a lot of competition and that is very good in the world of football ”.
Iniesta, Messi’s former teammate in Barcelona, where he won nine La Liga titles, six Reys Cups and four Champions League titles in a brilliant career at Camp Nou, predicted an exciting season ahead.
“La Liga is an exciting and interesting league. I have had the opportunity to be in it for many years and I think it is number one in the world, “he added.
“I think the talent we have in La Liga is incredible. Hopefully it will be a season that we are all going to enjoy a lot ”.
