[ad_1]
Barcelona have announced that Lionel Messi will leave the club after financial problems prevented him from signing a new contract with the striker.
Messi, 34, has been a free agent since his previous terms expired on June 30, but ESPN revealed in July that a vague agreement on a five-year extension had been reached.
– Messi’s 21-year Barça career: the ultimate timeline
– Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN + (US only)
– You don’t have ESPN? Access immediately
However, Barca have been unable to register Messi’s new La Liga contract while respecting the league’s financial fair play rules.
Barcelona said in a statement: “Although they have reached a deal with Messi and both sides clearly want to sign a new contract, it cannot be finalized due to financial and structural issues [rules relating to the Spanish league].
“Given this situation, Messi will not continue his relationship with Barcelona. Both sides deeply regret that the wishes of the player and the club cannot be fulfilled.
“Barça would like to wholeheartedly thank the player for his contribution to the growth of the institution and wish him the best in his personal and professional life.”
Spanish clubs must comply with a spending limit, which includes money spent on salaries and signings, determined by La Liga.
Barca’s spending was over € 600m before the coronavirus pandemic, but was reduced to € 347m last season and is expected to be further reduced for the next campaign.
Therefore, to save Messi’s new contract with the league, the Catalan club had to cut their payroll or bring in a significant amount of money in transfers.
However, the club have failed to deal with big payrolls such as Miralem Pjanic, Philippe Coutinho and Samuel Umtiti and have so far failed to reach an agreement with some of the club’s oldest players. on salary cuts.
Discussions are ongoing with Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Sergi Roberto regarding the salary adjustments.
Messi tried to leave Barca last summer after falling out with Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu but ended up staying against his will.
Speculation has since followed, with Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain the two clubs following his situation more closely. They will now be the favorites to sign him on a free transfer.
The election of Joan Laporta as Bartomeu’s successor in March appeared to change the situation completely, with Messi and his family being close to Laporta, who was the president when Messi broke into Barca’s first team.
Laporta has always said he was “confident” to reach an agreement for Messi to stay at the club and that the key was to build a sporting project that would guarantee him success on the pitch.
However, sources told ESPN that Messi is not convinced by the work Laporta has done in the transfer market this summer.
Another source added that there was also a disagreement over the distribution of commission payments involved in the deal.
Messi’s departure is a historic moment for the club. He first joined Barca’s academy in 2000 and played 778 games for the club, breaking Xavi Hernandez’s record for appearing last season.
He scored 672 goals, another club record, and helped Barca win, among other trophies, 10 La Liga titles and the Champions League on four occasions.
In the process, he won the Ballon d’Or six times and is among those considered the greatest to ever play football.
[ad_2]
Source link