Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi’s time in Barcelona seems to be running out. Barcelona announced on Thursday that Messi would no longer be with the club, saying the Spanish league’s financial rules made it impossible for the Argentine star to sign a new contract.
Barcelona said in a statement that an agreement had been reached for a new contract, but financial “barriers” made it impossible for the player to stay with the club.
“Despite the club and player reaching an agreement and their clear intention to sign a new contract today, this may not happen due to financial and structural constraints,” the club said.
It blamed “Spanish league rules” for not allowing the club to sign a new contract with the player. His previous one had expired on June 30.
“As a result of this situation, Messi will no longer be at FC Barcelona,” it said. “Both sides deeply regret that the wishes of the player and the club will ultimately not be fulfilled.
“FC Barcelona sincerely expresses its gratitude to the player for his contribution to the advancement of the club and wishes him the very best for the future in his personal and professional life,” the statement read.
Messi asked to leave Barcelona for free at the end of last season, but his request was denied by then-president Josep Bartomeu. Joan Laporta took over the presidency and it appeared that she had convinced Messi to stay. But Laporta recently said the club was struggling to fit player salaries – even with the hefty cuts accepted by the player – into league-controlled salary caps.
In Messi’s previous contract, signed in 2017, he reportedly earned 138 million euros ($163 million) per season.
The league announced on Wednesday it had secured $3.2 billion in private equity funding to help clubs that appeared to be paving the way for Barcelona to re-sign the Argentine star. But club officials struck a deal with Messi after meeting with player representatives in Barcelona on Thursday. Some local reports said it was Messi who had changed his mind about staying, while others said it was the club that was upset by the new demands made by the player’s staff.
Messi is leaving with the Catalan club after 17 seasons in which he has won 35 titles. He helped the club win the Champions League four times, the Spanish League 10 times, the Copa del Rey seven times and the Spanish Super Cup eight times.
While with the club, Messi earned himself a record six Ballon d’Or awards as the top player in the world. He is the team’s all-time scorer in 778 matches with 672 goals, and is the top scorer in the Spanish league with 474 goals in 520 matches. He is also the player with the most matches with the club.
He was the top scorer in the Spanish league in eight seasons and the top scorer in the Champions League on six occasions. His 26 goals against Real Madrid is a record for “classico” matches against Barcelona’s arch-rivals.
Messi arrived in Barcelona at the age of 13, when he and his family came to Spain to try their luck at the Barcelona youth academy. He made his official debut on 16 October 2004 and helped the club win its first Champions League two years later in a team led by Ronaldinho.
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