Find out why Lionel Messi could not stay at FC Barcelona even if he offered to play for free and the set of events which unraveled to his exit explained
Lionel Messi bid farewell to FC Barcelona in a press conference held on Sunday at Camp Nou. The conference was attended my Messi’s family, close friends and colleagues. It was a deeply emotional goodbye as the Barcelona legend struggled to control his emotions without shedding some tears.
Messi made it clear that it was not his choice to leave the Catalan club and neither did the club force him out. But the rules laid out by La Liga prevented the club from signing the player on a contract within the Spanish league’s financial fair play regulations.
Let’s take a closer look at the reasons for Messi’s sudden departure:
What did FC Barcelona announce regarding Lionel Messi and his exit
On 5th August 2021, FC Barcelona announced that Lionel Messi would not be continuing with the club. Having scored 672 goals in 778 appearances, Messi is the most successful player in the history of the Spanish club.
President Joan Laporta said: “Leo wanted to stay and we wanted him to stay, but the La Liga rules made it impossible for us to sign him.”
Why can’t Lionel Messi stay at Barcelona for free?
Messi offered to accept a 50% pay-cut in his salary but the Argentine could not stay even if he offered to play for free. Laporta explained that if Messi was to stay in Barcelona, the club’s wage-to-turnover percentage would be 110 per cent. And with him gone, it would have been 95 per cent, well above the FFP cut-off mark.
According to a recent financial report, the Catalan club’s debt exceeded GBP 1 million, which includes the money owed for Philippe Coutinho and Frenkie De Jong.
Lionel Messi is most likely to fly to Paris soon to sign a deal with French-giants Paris-Saint-Germain. He will be earning 35 million euros net a year at the Ligue 1 side.
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