A man who is hoping to take charge of the Spanish giants is eager to see the club bring back a number of heroic figures to aid the rebuilding project
Barcelona presidential candidate Victor Font wants to arrange a reunion between Pep Guardiola and Lionel Messi at Camp Nou.
A new era is about to be ushered in at Camp Nou in the wake of the resignation of club president Josep Maria Bartomeu. The 57-year-old stepped down along with the entire board of directors amid the threat of a vote of no confidence in November.
Bartomeu’s position had become increasingly unstable over the past few years, with blame for the team’s failures on the pitch and the club’s struggles financially off it laid at his door.
An 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in last season’s Champions League quarter-finals saw the situation reach boiling point and sparked a major squad overhaul with several senior stars leaving the club in the summer transfer window.
The likes of Arturo Vidal, Ivan Rakitic, Luis Suarez, Nelson Semedo and Arthur all moved on to pastures new, with Messi very nearly joining them after handing in a transfer request.
The Argentine ultimately opted to remain at Camp Nou to avoid a potential legal dispute, but he was heavily linked with a move to Manchester City to link up with Guardiola before clarifying his short-term future.
Font, who is currently the favourite to replace Bartomeu in the board room, thinks bringing the former Barca boss back would help convince Messi that a return to the elite stage can be achieved in the coming years.
The Spanish businessman would also like to see club legends such as Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Carlos Puyol return, as he told Sky Sports: “Replacing the best generation the world of football has ever seen, which I believe we have had over the last decade, is a big challenge. Particularly at a time when competition is intense and many clubs are owned by very powerful owners.
“Barcelona also need a significant investment to rebuild the stadium and all in a world which has been hit with one of the worst crises ever [coronavirus].
“It is clear we need a very solid plan to meet these challenges and this is what we have been doing over the last few years.
“It is our intention to build a very strong and competitive project and we are very lucky at Barca that we inherited a style of play that Johan Cruyff instilled throughout the organisation, and most of the best professionals who know about this style are also fans and love the club – like Pep Guardiola, Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol.
“They are all legends that love Barcelona but do not work for Barca today – we need to bring them back to ensure we will have a very competitive project.
“The only thing Messi needs is to know he is part of a competitive project that aspires to win the next Champions League. We have no doubt that if we basically have the honour to take the helm of Barcelona we will be able to achieve that [Messi staying].”
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