Barcelona president Joan Laporta reiterated keeping Lionel Messi at the club in 2021 was impossible because the club was in ruins financially.
Having come through Barca s academy, Messi s departure ended a 21-year association and highlighted the seriousness of the club s economic issues.
Messi s contract expired at the end of the 2020-21 season, and although he technically became a free agent, it was widely assumed Barca would re-sign him to a new deal once room was made in the budget.
But Barca – whose debts were at €1.35billion in August 2021 – had their LaLiga salary cap slashed by €280million ahead of the 2021-22 campaign as a result of their financial problems.
As such, even with a 50 per cent wage reduction reportedly agreed, Barca still could not afford to sign Messi to a new deal, and Spanish employment law forbids employers decreasing wages beyond 50 per cent.
I had to put Barca ahead of the best player in the history of football, Laporta told Cadena SER.
In those moments of financial ruin I couldn t keep him. I think it was the best thing for the club.
Leo Messi s return to the Training Center!
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English)
Of course, Messi continues to be linked with a return to Barca with his Paris Saint-Germain contract set to expire at the end of the season.
Similarly, reports suggest Messi has already agreed an extension with PSG, the announcement simply delayed by his participation in – and time off after – the World Cup.
Laporta was not eager to anger PSG – with whom Barca share a frosty relationship – by speaking about Messi, though his regret about the seven-time Ballon d Or winner not having a greater send-off might be interpreted by some as him hinting at a potential second chance.
I prefer not to talk about Leo because he is a PSG player, as then [if I spoke about him] there are missiles that come from everywhere, he added. We are focused on the players who are ours.
Leo will always be part of our emblem, and I would like him to have a different ending to the one he had.
