La Liga: Big Breaking: Messi leaves Barcelona -Joan Laporta Press Conference: FC Barcelona president speaks up on Leo Messi’s situation- Follow live updates – FC Barcelona President Joan Laporta faced the media in a press conference and spoke about the Leo Messi situation. He has gone on to claim how the club’s losses were higher than the club predicted. The Catalan club’s president also blames the previous administration for poor financial management which sees the club suffer from a financial crisis.
Laporta revealed that Leo wanted to stay with the club also keen on keeping hold of the Argentina star. Remphasizing on how Messi was focused on return back to the LaLiga side, he cites that Messi’s contract did not fall under financial fair play.
Asking the La Liga rules to be more flexible, the club president says that Barcelona cannot use them as an excuse and rather abide by them. He rehashed and claimed how Messi deserves everything. Expressing his sadness on seeing the Argentine international leave, Laporta feels that the club has done the right thing.
Speaking about the Argentine’s contract, Laporta adds that the first offer was a 2-year deal which saw Messi’s wages being paid in five years. However, the criteria of cash came into play that saw La Liga and FFP terming that contract invalid. Later, a 5-year contract was presented which was also accepted by Leo but claims that the 2-year deal was a top priority. Despite having contact negotiations over the last two months, Laporte knew two days ago that will not be playing for FC Barcelona.
The club president claims that he felt that LaLiga rules could more flexible, which led to him being positive about Messi staying at Barcelona. He adds that despite agreeing to a new contract with Leo, the salary mess is the major reason that sees Messi leave the club. While having contact negotiations over the last two months, the club president knew two days ago that Messi will not be playing for FC Barcelona.
Laporta mentions that the Argentine is also holding out other offers and adds how the only reason Barcelona can’t hold of Messi is due to their financial conditions. He goes on to thank everyone who was involved in the contract negotiations as the club prepares to enter a different era.
PSG establish direct contact with Messi: Hopeful of bringing the Argentine icon to Ligue 1
Earlier, Paris Saint-Germain had established direct contact with Lionel Messi approaching the Argentine superstar after he failed to sign his new contract with Barcelona. The 34-year-old is expected to wait for a few days before announcing his decision.
Paris Saint-Germain started new contacts to ask about Leo Messi situation yesterday, right after La Liga blocked new contract agreement with Barça 🔴🇦🇷 #PSG
Messi will take his time to see what happens. He turned down PSG and City approaches months ago, as he only wanted Barça.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 6, 2021
In a huge development, Argentina’s superstar Lionel Messi is finally set to leave FC Barcelona after 21 years as the club failed to re-sign him due to financial regulations.
After a bombshell report by Diario Marca suggested that Barcelona will not be able to sign Lionel Messi after his contract expired on June 30th, on Thursday, the club officially confirmed that the rumors were true.
Barcelona needed to move players out to renew Messi’s deal and they have not been able to find the solution. The club, whose total debt is about €1,173m, is necessitated by the league’s salary cap. Messi has agreed to a 50% pay cut, dropping from about €45m basic, after-tax, to closer to €20m.
“Leo Messi not staying at FC Barcelona. Despite club and player reaching an agreement and their clear intention to sign a new contract today, this cannot happen because of financial and structural obstacles. As a result of this situation, Messi shall not be staying on at FC Barcelona. Both parties deeply regret that the wishes of the player and the club will ultimately not be fulfilled,” FC Barcelona said in a statement.
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La Liga: Big Breaking: Messi leaves Barcelona – “FC Barcelona wholeheartedly expresses its gratitude to the player for his contribution to the aggrandisement of the club and wishes him all the very best for the future in his personal and professional life,” the club added.
Also Read: Ballon d’Or 2021: Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman tips Lionel Messi to win Ballon d’Or
La Liga: Big Breaking: Messi leaves Barcelona – Earlier, Lionel Messi agreed to take a whopping 50% pay cut due to Barcelona’s dire financial situation. But even then, the club had to offload a multitude of stars to resign him. Ultimately, it didn’t go through.
La Liga: Big Breaking: Messi leaves Barcelona – The Argentine star recently won the Copa America and was the player of the tournament. However, due to COVID induced financial crisis in world football, his options are limited. Only Real Madrid, Manchester City and PSG have the financial might to sign him.
😢 Lionel Messi at @FCBarcelona…
🏆x10 La Liga
🏆x7 Copa del Rey
🏆x4 Champions League
🏆x3 Club World Cup🥇x20 Top Scorers
🥇x6 Ballon d’Or
🥇x3 UEFA POTY
🥇x1 Fifa Men’s POTY🏟 778 Games
⚽️ 672 Goals
🅰️ 305 Assists🐐 End of an era. pic.twitter.com/1U0Hng5hML
— SPORF (@Sporf) August 5, 2021
Messi is Barcelona’s all-time top-scorer with 672 goals and 305 assists in 778 appearances for the club since joining the club’s youth academy in 2000.
La Liga: Big Breaking: Messi leaves Barcelona – As for Barcelona, the crisis is only going to get deeper as Lionel Messi brought a multitude of sponsorships with him and was responsible for over $30 million of the club’s yearly earnings due to the sale of shirts other than endorsement deals.
Furthermore, it complicates the situation for newly-elected President Joan Laporta who ran on the campaign to keep Lionel Messi at the club. But now that he has failed, it remains to be seen what holds for him in the near future.
