"I heard that La Liga had accepted everything and that everything was in order for me to come back, but there was still a lot missing" for this to be done, Messi said in an interview with Spanish sports dailies Sport and Mundo Deportivo, announcing his departure for the North American championship (MLS).

Starting with the absence, at this stage, of a financial green light on his return. "I heard that they (Barcelona leaders) had to sell players or lower players' salaries and the truth is that I did not want to go through this," insisted "La Pulga".

The ultimate goal of the world champion was to return to the fold and find his training club but this hope was quickly shattered by the economic reality of a club in great difficulty.

Financially fragile, Barça must reduce its wage bill by about 200 million euros to respect the financial fair play established by the Spanish League. And even if La Liga has approved its "viability plan", the club must continue to respect the 40% rule: out of 100 million saved, only 40 can be spent on player purchases.

Key career statistics of Lionel Messi © Guillermo RIVAS PACHECO, David LORY, Sabrina BLANCHARD / AFP

Messi's return therefore meant a big sacrifice for a team that has learned to live without its N.10 by being crowned champion of Spain this season, the first national title since 2019.

"I really wanted to come back"

Barça wants to extend players like Gavi, Ronald Araujo or Marcos Alonso, while keeping financial margins to bring in other players. Enough to make the Messi operation complex.

The Argentine star also said he had not received any "formal" proposal from Barça: "there was nothing written" or "signed", and "we did not know if it was going to be able to be done or not," he insisted.

Remarks in contradiction with the claims of the president of the club Joan Laporta who evoked for weeks a possible return of the star striker, whose name was chanted in recent weeks at Camp Nou in the 10th minute of each match.

Lionel Messi in the FC Barcelona shirt on February 13, 2021 at Camp Nou © LLUIS GENE / AFP/Archives

"We will do everything possible" for Messi to return to Barça, Joan Laporta said in mid-May, in the face of rumors of departure for Saudi Arabia, where a golden bridge was offered to him. "With all due respect" to this country, "Barça is Barça, and this is his home," he said.

"Everyone was enthusiastic, first him, then me and then the club" about his possible return, also said Thursday the coach of Barça, Xavi, in an interview on the platform Twitch. "But the circumstances did not arise," he added, calling for "respect" for the player.

Bitterness

This failure to bring Messi back is enough to fuel the bitterness of supporters who, for many, had begun to dream of seeing him finish his career in his club of heart.

"The club has nurtured the hope of his return and this has generated unnecessary disappointments," said Thursday the director of the daily Sport, Johan Vehils, in his column.

Several newspapers highlighted Thursday the lack of guarantees of FC Barcelona. Messi "did not wait because all the conditions were not met so that the worst episode of his life did not happen again," said in a forum the director of Mundo Deportivo, Santi Nolla.

Lionel Messi with Paris against Rennes at the Parc des Princes, March 19, 2023 © FRANCK FIFE / AFP/Archives

"If Leo had waited, maybe Barça would have obtained financial fair play, maybe they would have convinced Tebas (the president of LaLiga, editor's note), maybe they would have sold Ansu Fati, Kessié or Ferran," said Johan Vehils.

But "with a +maybe+, you can't convince the best footballer in history," he concluded.

© 2023 AFP