Font admitted that Messi\u2019s spuriously speculated return to Catalonia would \u201cgive me goosebumps,\u201d in an interview with Mundo Deportivo<\/a> this week, before quickly adding, \u201cwhat we shouldn\u2019t do is try to exploit him.\u201d As he pointed out, \u201cI think Laporta has done it, and he\u2019s done it many times, and I think he\u2019s done it wrong.<\/p>\n FREE NEWSLETTER. New SI FC Newsletter Global Embed. Sign Up to Get Informed With SI FC. dark<\/p>\n \u201cThe most recent and obvious instance [of Messi exploitation] was during the [last] elections,\u201d Font claimed, referring to the campaign in 2021 when Laporta heavily hinted at doing everything in his power to keep the Argentine talisman at Barcelona. Within a matter of months, Messi had joined<\/a> Paris Saint-Germain. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s yet another example of a broken promise, and I believe Messi shouldn\u2019t be used,\u201d Font huffed before swiftly using him. \u201cBut Messi needs to know that the first thing I\u2019ll do when I win the elections is pick up the phone and call him. It will be the first phone call I make.\u201d<\/p>\n V\u00edctor Font is running against Joan Laporta. \/ LLUIS GENE\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Messi personally congratulated Laporta for winning the 2021 election\u2014collecting around 54% of the vote while Font banked just shy of 34%\u2014but that relationship has since frosted over, by all accounts. It was telling that Messi waited until the president had left the city and reportedly didn\u2019t inform<\/a> any club executive when he entered the refurbished Camp Nou under the cover of night earlier this month.<\/p>\n Font has sniffed out this rift and is unashamedly offering an olive branch to the Inter Miami captain. <\/p>\n \u201cWe have to embrace Leo Messi,\u201d he declared, \u201cand do everything possible so that, as soon as possible, Leo Messi has the role at Bar\u00e7a<\/a> that, as he said last week, he wants and that all Bar\u00e7a fans would be thrilled about. Having a statue of him doesn\u2019t even begin to cover it.\u201d<\/p>\n Next. Why Messi left Barcelona. Why Did Lionel Messi Leave Barcelona?. dark<\/p>\n Font\u2019s campaign is unashamedly steeped in nostalgia. \u201cI mean, Bar\u00e7a and Bar\u00e7a\u2019s history are its legends,\u201d as he said. Messi is just one famous face associated with the club\u2019s storied recent history which Font is trying to co-op, with Xavi Hern\u00e1ndez and Pep Guardiola also name-checked.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n