The announcement of Lionel Messi leaving Barcelona came as a shock for all the football fans across the world! Just eight days before the start of the new season of Spanish League La Liga, the world came to a halt.
The Spanish club had announced on July 1st that Messi had been a free agent but they decided to re-sign him and the player had shown intentions of staying with the club but the result is the opposite of what was anticipated!
According to the official statement by the Barca club “despite club and player reaching an agreement and their clear intention to sign a new contract, this cannot happen because of financial and structural obstacles”
Lionel Messi debuted in the Spanish football league in 2004 with Barcelona and since then has won 10 La Liga titles along with four champion league titles with the Spanish club. In April 2021, Messi won the 35th trophy of his career when Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey final.
The 34-year-old Argentinian expressed that he did not want to leave the club but due to financial obstructions, there was no other option but to part ways with the Barca club.
Barcelona blamed La Liga for Messi’s exit
Barcelona claimed that both the player and the club wanted to renew their deal but the regulations imposed by the Spanish football league; it was impossible. According to the reports, Messi was even willing to reduce his salary by 50 percent just to continue his journey with Barca.
According to the protocols and regulations introduced by La Liga in 2013, the clubs are restricted to offer wages and acquisition money to the players if the cost exceeds 70% of the annual revenue. Due to the ongoing pandemic, FC Barcelona has faced great monetary loss but it was still planning to retain Messi by shedding over $200 million salaries but according to the regulations, still it was nowhere near to reality.
Club Barca, one of the leading Spanish football clubs is already under debt for almost $1 billion, any kind of monetary infusion might have saved the day but even then there was no way the club could manage to make room for the world’s no, 1 player!
What does the future hold?
The anticipation of Lionel Messi joining the English Premier League has gained momentum now. As far as the rumor goes, Manchester City is one of the leading contenders to sign the world’s best footballer who just won the Copa America cup for Argentina last month.
As for La Liga, the fans are mourning. The future looks bleak because the Spanish league faced a setback when Cristiano Ronaldo, another world-famous footballer, left Real Madrid a few years ago.
Here’s a toast to Lionel Messi for all his future endeavors and for club Barca who still needs to look ahead and stay in the game!
