- The chairman said that Messi’s salary requirements would jeopardize the club’s future.
- “The club is above everything-even above the best players in the world.”
- The Barcelona chairman regrets the financial situation he inherited.
Barcelona: Barcelona President Joan Laporta said on Friday that the club was forced to let the Argentine superstar Lionel Messi leave because his salary requirements would jeopardize the club’s future.
Laporta said that both the club and Messi want to sign a new contract, but the Argentine’s deal will make the salary reach 110% of the club’s income, which is financially risky considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The club is above everything — even above the best players in the world,” Laporta said in a press conference.
He said that without Messi’s wages, wages would account for 95% of Barcelona’s income.
“Last season will end with twice the loss we predicted-more than 400 million (euro),” he added.
Laporta said that ideally, the salary should account for 65%-70% of the club’s income, “so there is still a lot of work to be done.”
Messi has played for the club throughout his career, but Barcelona announced on Thursday that the six-time Ballon d’Or winner will leave after 18 years.
However, Laporta said at a press conference that both the club and Messi want to sign a new contract.
“We reached an agreement, but could not be formally determined because of the club’s financial situation, which means that due to salary restrictions, we cannot register players,” he said.
Barcelona’s historical top scorer and appearance maker technically ended his 21-year partnership with the club at the end of June and is currently a free agent after his previous contract expires.
According to a newspaper report in January, Messi’s last contract was signed in 2017 and is the most profitable contract in the world sports world. world. Forbes He has been listed as the second highest paid athlete in the world in 2021, with an income of 130 million U.S. dollars.
“It suddenly ended like this when you thought he had signed again… It’s really sad, really sad,” the 36-year-old student and Barcelona fan Jose Rivero stood earlier in Catalonia. Said on the streets of the capital of Ronia.
Laporta said that the club has signed two new contracts with Messi, first a five-year contract with a payment period of more than five years, and then a separate five-year contract.
But he said that due to La Liga’s financial fair play (FFP) rules, they could not complete any transactions, and he was unwilling to agree to the CVC private equity investment proposed by the league, just to ensure the future of Messi.
“In order to satisfy the FFP, Barcelona had to agree to an action, basically re-mortgaging the club, which will affect our television rights for the next 50 years, and I have to make a decision.”
Laporta said that the financial losses in the 2020-21 season affected by the coronavirus will be twice the expected.
“We need to keep going. We will not meet the FFP standards just by putting the club at risk for the next 50 years,” he told reporters.
The Barcelona chairman expressed regret about the financial situation he inherited from the former club chairman Josep Maria Bartomeu, calling it “much worse” than expected.
“I don’t want to continue talking about our inheritance and the bad decisions we have made in the past. We have become worse and worse,” he said.
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