Well, whaddya know – Lionel Messi could have some of his wages payed by the owners of other teams from La Liga, amidst Barcelona’s issues uncertainty of their ability to afford their captain’s wages next season despite his reported 50% pay cut.
Messi, currently a free agent after his contract expired at Barcelona at the beginning of June, has yet to sign a new deal although Joan Laporta has been consistently insistent that the deal is almost wrapped up with both the Blaugrana talisman and the club having supposedly already agreed to a new 5-year deal.
Be as it may, Barca are currently way above their wage cap and must reduce wages drastically, otherwise their new Sergio Aguero, Memphis Depay and Eric Garcia signings will not be able to see action when the La Liga kicks off in August for the new season.
The situation is so terse and tense for Ronald Koeman’s side that according to one report they’re more than ready to offload star striker Antoine Griezmann in order to iron out their financial conundrum.
Surprisingly, however, there might be a light at the far end of the tunnel that may not turn out to be an oncoming train as a shock report has emerged that other La Liga clubs are actually eager and anxious to help pay Messi’s wages because they seriously believe the Argentine’s continued presence and services at Barcelona are immensely beneficial for the league. This is definitely a most shocking, albeit pleasant, surprise, to say the least.
“There are elite presidents of Spanish football who are willing to make a contribution to pay for Messi’s contract at Barcelona and keep him in Spanish football,” journalist Roberto Gomez claimed on radio channel El Transistor.
“They say it’s good for Barcelona and the Spanish league.”
Of course, the other clubs are right that the La Liga would be a more humdrum arena without the blinding glare of the spotlights trained on the brilliance of the six time Ballon d’Or winner even though his absence from the pitch would surely give them a better chance of beating the Catalan giants.
Of course, touched though they would most certainly be by this generous, heartwarming gesture by their rivals, excluding Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, Laporta and all Culès would have to swallow their pride to allow a humbling gesture of such magnitude to actually happen.
It would be most embarrassing for the 26-time Spanish champions if they have to stoop so low as to accept help from the teams below them in the league just to afford the wages of their own captain.
God forbid, indeed.