Barcelona president Joan Laporta has just admitted he cannot confirm Lionel Messi’s stay at the club following the expiry of his new contract, despite their heavy optimism.
The Barcelona talisman and skipper’s contract officially expired on stroke of midnight, meaning he is now officially a free agent plying his Bosman status, 21 years after arriving at Camp Nou.
A new deal is expected to be signed, with a two-year contract on the table, but it cannot be signed due to Financial Fair Play issues apparently, with Barcelona chief Laporta admitting there are mitigating financial issues to sort before the deal can be done.
“We want him to stay and Leo wants to stay, everything is on track, we have the theme of Fair Play, we are in the process of finding the best solution for both parties,” Laporta told Onda Cero, as cited by Marca.
“I would like to announce his stay, but in these moments, I cannot say it because we are in the process of finding the best solution for both parties.”
All this means is that Messi is now able to sign for any club for free, an option he was supposed to have taken up last summer but for his fallout with the Barca board.
But following the re-election of Laporta, it seems the Argentine is more aligned towards the preference of staying except that Barca obviously need to get their house in order.
UEFA Fair Play must be abided by if the Blaugrana want to avoid heavy punishment, and the club also have the issue of being around 40% over their La Liga wage cup, as well as being around €1billion in debt.
Credit: Football Tribe Malaysia
