The issue of whether Lionel Messi will or will not pen a new contract at Barcelona is dominating much of the build-up to the presidential election at the Camp Nou, with Joan Laporta stating that he wants to make the Argentine happy again.
On Thursday, Carles Tusquets, the president of the management committee currently in charge at Barcelona, revealed that the club's finances are so poor that they should have sold Messi in the summer, yet Laporta does not share that view.
"Leo wants Barcelona," Laporta told Radio MARCA and COPE when asked about Messi.
"What I want is to give him back his happiness. It's not just a question of money, you have to create a competitive team.
"Leo has been cheated and that is a big loss. He's a winner and can't stand to see other teams lift the Champions League.
"The last time I spoke to him was in October. I am very grateful to him for all he has done for Barcelona. I have known him since he was 16 years old and he is an extraordinary person.
"There is mutual appreciation and respect. We must be inside [the club] to make an imaginative and credible proposal to him."
Laporta has been one of the candidates who has intimated that they would be interested in bringing Neymar back to Barcelona, so long as the club's finances allowed it, but he wouldn't be drawn on the topic.
"Leo wants to have a squad that brings back the joy," he stated.
"A team like Barcelona needs team spirit in a dressing room. I've been president of Barcelona and I don't want to destabilise a team in a delicate situation."
VAR has been a much-discussed topic in the last couple of years, and the 58-year-old has offered his thoughts on the technology.
"As a football fan I don't like it," Laporta said.
"I like to argue on a Monday about a ghost goal or a penalty that was not given. Technology is a guarantee of a good refereeing decision, but I don't believe it.
"I have seen an obvious favouritism. Let them explain to me how they put the lines."
Source: m.allfootballapp.com