javier thebesthe president of The league, compared the relationship between Lionel Messi and Spanish football to a movie with a “sad ending” and regretted that the star had to leave the Barcelona to play with him Paris Saint-Germain, since for him the ideal thing was for him to stay in Spain until the end of his professional career.
“Messi did not end his career in LaLiga because Leo and Barcelona did not agree. I wish he could have stayed and finished his sports career in Spain. It would have been the best for him, for me and for Barcelona,” Tebas said during a press conference, after his participation in the Sports Summit Leaders event, organized in Buenos Aires by the sports newspaper Olé.
The current Inter Miami forward had commented, when he arrived in Major League Soccer (MLS), that he had a “complicated” stay in France because he did not want to leave the Catalan club, but he and his family were now very happy in Florida ( USA).
“Leo has his family and his way of thinking; Besides, I think he has been looking for new experiences for some years. I wish he had come to Spanish football and never gone to PSG. The end of this film has been sad between Messi and Spanish football“, added the president of LaLiga.
Your advice for MLS, Inter Miami and the Saudi Arabian league
On the other hand, although following the line of the Messi theme, Tebas ruled out that the emerging markets of other football leagues could overshadow the traditional European sports institutions due to the lack of a “great brand”.
“The MLS has long sought to position itself as a great brand, but has not succeeded. Messi punctually is going to help to a greater knowledge, but the example is in Miami“, indicated the leader of Spanish football.
Currently, the MLS, with the presence of Messi, and the Saudi league, where Cristiano Ronaldo plays for Al-Nassr, have experienced an increase in their recognition and economic activity thanks to the inclusion of these figures, who were in Spain, in their respective championships; However, for Thebes it takes more than that to maintain that momentum and take advantage of it to better position itself in front of the whole world.
“The competitions are not made with the players, but with the names of the clubs. You have to work a lot more on the competition and the brand. The Saudi league occupies me, but it doesn’t worry me. It does not compete against us. We will see his ability, but it takes a long time to create a great brand, ”he defined.
In this sense, Thebes compared the situation of the French league, when Paris-Saint Germain had Kylian Mbappé in its ranks, along with Messi and Neymar, with the German one and considered that the Bundesliga maintains a “great competition” without so many figures outstanding.
“The French league has not had growth. It is true that the players make a league more attractive, but the condition for it to last over time are the brands of the clubs and the competitions“, he equated.
“There you have the Bundesligateams like the Bayern Munich they have great competition and never big stars. They continue to maintain a level equal to ours, achieving sporting victories and have never had a Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, because the brand of the club and the competition are above all else”, he concluded.
*With information from EFE.
Keep reading:
· Messi heads the list of nominees for the Ballon d’Or; CR7 was left out
· This is the way: Messi wants to get Inter Miami to the MLS playoffs
· Messi prepares for Argentina’s debut in the World Cup qualifiers