Barcelona president explains failure to re-sign Lionel Messi

Joan Laporta held a press conference to discuss Messi’s exit from Barcelona

Barcelona president Joan Laporta gave an hour-plus press conference in an attempt to explain why they were unable to come to an agreement with Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi.

Despite an agreement between the two sides being reached, the club sent out a statement yesterday confirming Messi was no longer tied to the club and wishing him the best on his future endeavors.

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Laporta explained they could not come to an agreement with LaLiga on the five-year deal they reached with Messi. The only way it could happen was if the club agreed to the CVC deal which Barcelona has already come out against.

"“It would not be in Barca’s best interests,” Laporta said. “We were going to receive some money but we think that accepting it — and affecting our [revenue from] television rights for the next 50 years — is not something we can do [to keep Messi]. It’s too risky. The club is above players, coaches and presidents.”Source: ESPN"

He also said he came to a conclusion two day ago that it was almost impossible for them to re-sign Messi and he made it aware to Jorge Messi, the player’s agent and father.

Laporta laid blame to the mismanagement by the previous board where they accumulated a tremendous amount of debt which came back to bite them during the pandemic when they lost a significant chunk of revenues from game receipts.

Originally, Laporta thought the loss from last season would be somewhere in the neighborhood of €200 million. Once the audit was done, they realized it was far worse than previously thought. According to their calculations, the actual loss for last season is going to be around €487 million.

Those factors, alongside the wage limit imposed by LaLiga, was more than enough to block their attempts at re-signing Messi.

Despite some people thinking this was a political move intended to put pressure on LaLiga, judging by Laporta’s comments, it is not the case. He said no one is bigger than the club and as president, he has to make the tough decisions.

He also pushed aside any chance of talks starting up again as he does not want to give anyone false hope.

“I don’t want to generate false hope,” Laporta said. “During the course of negotiations, we’ve known of other offers for Messi. There was a time limit, for us and for [Messi’s camp], because they need time. The leagues are starting.

“The negotiations with Messi have ended and it’s brought us here without an agreement because of the salary limit. Leo wanted to stay so he’s not happy. We all wanted him to stay but now, like us, he is facing the reality of what’s happened. A reality that can’t be changed.”

The Lionel Messi era at Barcelona is officially over. Laporta made an effort to emphasize this is the start of a new era. He spoke directly to the players and even though they were disappointed to hear Messi will not continue, Laporta told them it was now their opportunity to show why they belong at the club.

Losing Messi is a shock which will take a long while for some to accept. But that is the reality Barcelona, and their supporters, are facing. To make matters worse, the club is still facing a financial burden. One that will take more than one season to resolve.

Messi, as it turned out, was simply one of the casualties of the mess Barcelona find themselves in.