The departure of Barcelona club legend and world footballing icon Lionel Messi has no doubt been a tough blow for everyone – not only in the Barcelona camp – to take. The Argentine maestro spent close to two decades defending the Garnet and blue stripes, and due to the club’s gross mismanagement of their own finances, he was finally forced to leave.
And now, disclosed for the first time ever – according to the ever-reliable Marsal Llorente – Barcelona had actually already decided to part ways with their talisman Messi even a month ago. Reportedly, both club president Joan Laporta and Barça CEO Ferran Reverter had already pre-meditatively decided that Messi did not enter their economic plans at all, or fit into their salary limits.
Well cognizant of this, Laporta, playing the role of the good guy and club savior, then simulated negotiations with Messi’s camp until the talisman would have to join the team in the pre-season. The proof of all this is with Pepe Costa, Messi’s right-hand man, as well as the director of the Office of Attention to the Player. Messi’s contract ended on the 30th of June yet despite that he still did not receive any renewal offer.
During his press conference, Laporta stated that the bare minimum in salary that Messi was willing to accept to play for the club was still far too much for the club to handle. Barça simply were incapable of paying what Messi asked for, and thus there would be no agreement at all whatsoever because Laporta already knew beforehand he was not going to sign.
Notwithstanding the club’s incapacity to sign Messi, Laporta went on to say that “there will be three or four more signings” to go before the end of the window. This project would naturally be unfeasible given that he knew the wage bill exceeded 110% of the club’s income.
Laporta apparently kept up the lie until only hours before Messi returned to Barcelona from his post Copa America holidays. The president’s excuse being that it was the club’s financial limit that pushed Messi away now when in reality, the state of the club was exactly as it is now even a month ago.
Laporta told everyone that “everything was going well” and that Messi would sign, when he knew nothing of the sort would happen.