LaLiga president, Javier Tebas has cleared the air on the Spanish top-flight league authorizing Lionel Messi’s return to Barcelona in 2023.

Tebas spoke to the RTVE sports show Estudio Estadio, a day after former Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez claimed that Barca’s president, Joan Laporta, does not want Messi back at the Camp Nou.

Recall that Xavi had claimed that LaLiga did not block Messi’s return after the Argentina captain won the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

However, Tebas has now cleared the air, insisting that LaLiga did not give Barcelona the green light to bring Messi back to Camp Nou.

“La Liga did not authorise anything regarding Leo Messi’s return to Barcelona in 2023,” Tebas said.

Recall that Laporta sanctioned Messi’s departure from Barcelona in August 2021, after both camps failed to agree on a contract extension.

Messi left as a free agent and joined Paris Saint-Germain. The Argentine forward later moved to Inter Miami in Major League Soccer.

LaLiga clears air on authorizing Messi’s return to Barcelona