Lionel Messi set to leave Barcelona

The worst has come to pass as Lionel Messi and Barcelona part ways

Marca were the first to break the news on Lionel Messi reaching an impasse with Barcelona over a new deal. The report called a renewal “almost impossible.”

That report has come true as Barcelona officially issued a statement in which the club announced they failed to reach a deal with the Argentine superstar.

“Despite club and player reaching an agreement and their clear intention to sign a new contract today, this cannot happen because of financial and structural obstacles,” the Barcelona announcement read.

Also in their press release, the Catalans placed blame on LaLiga for their inability to reach an agreement with Messi.

While LaLiga’s restrictions played a part, ultimately, the blame lies only at the hands of Barcelona and the disastrous tenure of former presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu.

The financial mismanagement of the club is to blame that they were unable to re-sign the best player in Barcelona history. Joan Laporta was well aware of the constraints he was working under and has failed to fulfill one of his most important campaign promises.

Laporta share the least amount of blame but has to shoulder the responsibility that he will be known as the president in charge when Barcelona lost Lionel Messi.

Despite constant reassurances an agreement was in place, it only took one meeting to determine just how untrue those reassurances were.

Messi’s tenure ends with a whimper and now his future is going to be hot button issue until the transfer window closes. There are only a handful of teams who can sign him and those are PSG and Manchester City.

Barcelona can do nothing else but look forward. Though the sting of losing their best ever player is sure to linger for a while.