FC Barcelona explains the reasons for the departure of Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi celebrates a goal scored with Barca against Chelsea in the Champions League on March 14, 2018 at Camp Nou in Barcelona Josep LAGO AFP / Archives
Text by: Farid Achache Follow
3 min
Extending the contract of the Argentinian Lionel Messi would have represented a
financial
"
risk
" for FC Barcelona, currently in great difficulty, declared Friday August 6 during a press conference its president Joan Laporta, who said to have done what was "
best for the interests
" of the club.
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“
Negotiations started two months ago.
The first offer was to pay him two years' wages in five years.
We thought it would be allowed under La Liga fair play rules.
But the rules here are different from those in other countries.
Given the situation, we then agreed to a five-year contract.
The La Liga committee told us that the contract was not valid either.
The only solution was to accept the La Liga deal with CVC.
But accepting this money would have affected our TV rights over 50 years.
We couldn't accept it,
”explains Joan Laporta.
"
We must respect the rules of La Liga
"
Mr. Laporta, elected in March on the promise to keep Messi at Barça, has also accused the financial fair play put in place by the Spanish Liga of having prevented him from achieving this goal. “
Leo wanted to stay at Barça, we wanted him to stay. But we came to a point where we had to look at the numbers with a cool head. We have to respect the La Liga rules, we thought they would be more flexible,
says the president of the Blaugrana club
. Leo deserves everything. He has proven his love for Barça, his roots are here. The club is more than a hundred years old, it is above everything, coaches, presidents, and even the best player who has been with us in recent years. We will be eternally grateful for all he has done for us
”.
Joan Laporta rejects the idea that the departure of Messi signals the end of FC Barcelona's ambitions. “
There will be expectations around the club and we are ready for this challenge. We are more motivated than ever so that Barca can continue to be successful and give joy. We have 122 years of history and we've been through it all. The post-Messi era will be full of success,
”he assures us. The Argentina international, who leaves the Catalan club after more than twenty years of life together, has "
other proposals
", says Joan Laporta, without revealing which clubs courted the player. According to the press, Manchester City and PSG are in line to bring in the six-fold Ballon d'Or.
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