GREAT NEWS: The reasons behind Barcelona resigning Lionel Messi
GREAT NEWS: The reasons behind Barcelona resigning Lionel Messi
GREAT NEWS: The reasons behind Barcelona resigning Lionel Messi
The Argentine’s favorite destination is Ligue 1’s Paris Saint-Germain
Barcelona might still have one shot at bringing back Lionel Messi.
The unthinkable had just turned into reality at Camp Nou as Messi officially departed Barcelona–the club he had played for over 20 years.
Barca insisted that due to the financial obstacles, renewing Messi’s contract was not viable.
However, La Liga president Javier Tebas revealed to La Vanguardia on Sunday that there was an offer presented to Barcelona last month which aims to aid the club’s financial woes.
According to Tebas, they had a “dinner” with Barcelona executives, including the club president Joan Laporta on “July 14.”
In the said meeting, Tebas and his representatives “discussed and delivered” the details of the “CVC agreement” to Barca.
To add context, the said agreement secured €2.7 billion ($3.18 billion) of investment into La Liga, “15 percent” of which could be used as a budget for signings and player salaries.
Hence, it would have given Barcelona an extra €40 million ($47.06 million), a figure that could be of great help in re-signing Messi, the report said.
At the time, Tebas bared that Barcelona had “abundant enthusiasm” towards renewing Messi’s contract. But Laporta’s sudden change in stance about the matter may have led to the collapse of the deal, and not the issues raised by the “Financial Fair Play,” the report added.
Contrary to what Tebas said, Laporta insisted in a press conference on Friday that Barcelona did everything they could to keep Messi. But the current financial status of the club and La Liga rules have led them to part ways as closing a deal was just “impossible.”
“Renewing Messi carried certain risks, but we cannot put the club at greater risk,” Laporta told reporters, including CNN. “You have to put feelings aside, you have to look at numbers with a cold head. We wanted La Liga to be more flexible, but this is no excuse. We knew the rules and what we have been left with from the previous board makes it all impossible.”
“The club is above everything, even the best player in the world.”
Messi, on the other hand, has already bid an emotional farewell in his press conference on Sunday. The Argentine was in tears while confirming his Barcelona departure, admitting he didn’t want to leave.
The 34-year-old has widely been linked to a sensational move to Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain, and the club is confident about securing a transfer deal soon.”
A group representing Barcelona’s members claim Paris Saint-Germain should also not be able to sign Messi due to their high salary-to-income ratio
Lionel Messi breaks down in tears as he says final goodbye to FC Barcelona
Lionel Messi’s move to Paris Saint-Germain could be in doubt after a group of lawyers representing Barcelona’s members filed a complaint to the European Commission in an attempt to block the French club from signing the forward.
Messi waved goodbye to Barcelona on Sunday at an emotional press conference after he was unable to extend his 21-year stay with his boyhood club due to financial reasons.
Although a deal had been agreed between the two parties, La Liga rules prevented Barcelona from registering Messi as a new player as the club’s wage bill stood at more than 70 per cent of its turnover.
Despite Messi publicly declaring that he wants to stay at Barcelona, and insisting that he did everything he could to remain at the club, PSG appear to be in pole position to sign the Argentine.
A deal is expected to be completed in the next 48 hours, with Messi stating that joining PSG is “a possibility” as he looks to compete for trophies and win more major honours in the game.
But, in a document posted on Twitter by lawyer Juan Branco, a complaint has been filed to the European Commission in an attempt to block the move.
The statement read: “On behalf of FC Barcelona partners, my firm has prepared a complaint with the European Commission and demands for provisional suspension before civil and administrative courts in France to prevent Paris-Saint Germain from signing Lionel Messi.
“PSG’s ratios in terms of ‘Financial Fair Play’ are worse than those of FC Barcelona. In 2019-2020, PSG’s salary-to-income ratio was 99 per cent, while Barcelona’s was 54 percent.”
The complaint also claims that PSG’s salary-to-income ratio has since increased following a summer of increased spending.
PSG have already signed Gianluigi Donnarumma, Sergio Ramos, Achraf Hakimi and Georginio Wijnaldum this summer, adding to a star-studded squad that includes Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Angel Di Maria and Marco Verratti.
