Even after all the drama last year when he explained to Goal why he wanted out, the financial mess the club has been left in under former president Josep Maria Bartomeu, after all the ins and outs and ups and downs, it still feels bizarre to write that Lionel Messi is leaving Barcelona.
The Blaugrana appeared to be on course to register Messi for the 2021-22 season on Thursday, especially in light of La Liga receiving a huge loan injection (more on that later), but planned celebrations soon turned to despair as Barca announced that their captain cannot stay.
A statement read:
“Despite FC Barcelona and Lionel Messi having reached an agreement and the clear intention of both parties to sign a new contract today, this cannot happen because of financial and structural obstacles (Spanish Liga regulations).
“As a result of this situation, Messi shall not be staying on at FC Barcelona.”
Essentially, even with Messi agreeing to a huge 50 per cent pay cut, the club’s finances are in such dire shape that re-signing the Argentine, currently a free agent, would see them breach the rules of Financial Fair Play (FFP).
Is there any chance he could stay?
At the time of writing, it is extremely unlikely, but there are some who believe Barca’s announcement is merely a ploy to get La Liga to ease up on their regulations and give the club special dispensation to re-sign Messi.
Explaining the situation at a press conference on Friday, current president Joan Laporta said:
“I don’t want to generate false hope. If Fair Play continues to be rigid, the player needs some time to see what he is going to do and look at other options.
“I like to dream, but this is the reality of what has happened. In La Liga we have to abide by the rules. We think they could be more flexible, but that is not an excuse. We couldn’t abide by it.”
What about the €2.7bn loan?
For those who might have missed it, La Liga secured a multi-billion cash injection from CVC Capital Partners, with 70% of the cash marked for infrastructure investments, while 15% was to go to restructuring debt and a further 15% to increasing the league’s salary limit.
With that money, Barca had what they needed to get Messi back on their books.
However, both Barca and Real Madrid have spoken out against the deal, which signs away a percentage of clubs’ audiovisual rights for five decades. Madrid have gone as far as to claim that the deal is, in fact, against the law.
A statement reads:
“The clubs have signed over their audiovisual rights exclusively for their sale on a competitive basis for a period of three years.
“This agreement, by way of a misleading structure, expropriates 10.95% of the clubs’ audiovisual rights for the next 50 years, in breach of the law.
“Real Madrid will convene the Assembly of Representative Members to debate the agreement and discuss the significant loss of equity, unprecedented in our 119-year history.”
‘We can’t destroy the club’
Laporta went in to detail about why such a deal, if accepted in order to re-sign Messi, would put the future of Barca in danger, stating:
“The salary mass is 110 per cent of the total income of the club, we don’t have any margin in terms of salary. This is all tied to Fair Play.
“La Liga doesn’t follow the criteria of cash, that is why we couldn’t fit in the first contract that we agreed with Leo Messi.
“In order to meet fair play, Barca had to agree to an operation that would impact the club for the next 50 years in terms of television rights. That means that we can’t make a decision that impacts the club for the next 50 years.
“The club is more than 100 years old and is above everything – even the best player in the world. The salary mass has a great deal to do with that after a calamitous situation that was down to the previous board. If we terminate current contracts, that also has risks.
“We can’t destroy the club.”
So what next for Messi?
Given the 34-year-old was ready to sign a five-year deal with Barca, he clearly feels that he has plenty left in him to play at the top of the game, meaning a move back to Argentina or MLS can be all but ruled out.
In terms of clubs that could afford his wages, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City would likely be the only two sides with the financial power to sign him.
Whether he chooses to link up with former boss Pep Guardiola or rejoin his old pal Neymar is anyone’s guess at present, but it is all but certain that Lionel Messi’s time at Barcelona has come to a painful end.
▪︎ Source: Goal.com newsletter
