Tearful Lionel Messi Bids Goodbye to Barcelona; Sources Say PSG Deal Agreed. As he gave his farewell news conference as a Barcelona player, Lionel Messi broke down in tears. Messi has appeared in 778 games for the Catalan club since making his senior debut in 2003, scoring 672 goals. As part of his new deal, he agreed to take a 50 percent pay reduction. Barcelona, on the other hand, couldn’t even afford a cheap Messi.
Messi has been with Barcelona for nearly 20 years and is the club’s most decorated player. He has Argentine-Catalan offspring, including his own children.
Things didn’t go well on the pitch, and he considered leaving the club ahead of the 2020-21 season. The former club president Josep Bartomeu had a contentious relationship with him. As a result of the departure of Bartomeu, Messi pledged his future to the club.
Barcelona stated on August 5 that Messi “will not continue” with the club in a press release. He said that Leo wanted to continue with the club and the club wanted him to stay, but LaLiga’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) laws made it impossible. Barcelona’s wage-to-turnover ratio is required to be 70 percent by law.
Even if he had played for free, Barcelona would not have been able to re-sign the six-time Ballon d’Or winner. Having Messi on board increased the club’s pay-to-turnover ratio to 110 percent, Laporta stated. If not for him, it would have been 95 percent, which is considerably beyond the FFP cut-off point of 50 percent. Philippe Coutinho and Frenkie de Jong are among the players that owe money to the club, according to the club’s latest financial report. For their first-team squad, they pay about GBP 235 million each year in salaries and benefits.
This might be a pressure strategy by Barcelona to get LaLiga to loosen its FFP regulations since Messi has been the most lucrative player in the league in terms of commercial agreements and TV rights. Real Madrid published a statement criticizing LaLiga shortly after Barcelona announced Messi’s departure. A sad farewell implies this is the case
Leo Messi Shared his final thoughts in an Instagram post:
I would have liked to leave in another way, although I suppose that a farewell can never be something nice … I would have loved to continue here, I did everything with that objective and in the end, it did not happen. I only have words of thanks for all those who have accompanied me in so many years at the club. And for our fans, that they gave me all their love and that I tried to give it back to them, also giving everything for this shirt. I’m leaving but it’s not goodbye, just see you later. Visca el Barça !!!
When it came to finding his next move, Messi looks reticent. Mauricio Pochettino, PSG’s coach, has allegedly spoken with Messi, and the club is making preparations for a Paris Eiffel Tower presentation. In addition to PSG, just a handful of other teams can afford him. PSG is also owned by Qatari businessmen, which means his visit may open up a wealth of economic opportunities ahead of the Qatar World Cup of 2022.
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