Barcelona president Joan Laporta has denied claims suggesting that he told Lionel Messi to play for free this season.
The Barca president admitted the subject wast was raised before "Leo" left for Paris Saint-Germain in August.
Laporta has now said to TV3 as quoted by Tribalfootball: "I want this to be clear. In a radio show, I was told: 'If Messi could have stayed for free?' For free ... I don't know if it would have been possible, but I understand that it could have been.
"And for a while I was like, well, it could have been. But I never asked him to play for free and in that Messi is right because, other than that, he is the best player in the world.
"We knew he had a big offer and that was nonsense. Anyway, it had to come from him, not from me. I never said that and a controversy was born which is distorted at the source."
