By AP -- Money came betwixt Barcelona and Lionel Messi.
Barcelona said the subordinate wanted to stay. The nine wanted the same.
They adjacent shook hands connected a deal. But successful the extremity the club's dire fiscal concern made it impossible.
Letting Messi go was the lone mode of redeeming the club, and conscionable similar that Messi's epoch astatine Barcelona came to an end.
President Joan Laporta said Friday that keeping the Argentine prima would beryllium risky, and not adjacent the top subordinate successful the satellite was worthy jeopardising the club's future.
"We deliberation Barcelona is supra all," Laporta said. "The nine is implicit 100 years aged and is supra everyone, adjacent supra the champion subordinate successful the world. The nine goes implicit players, coaches, presidents."
Laporta spoke a time aft the nine announced the negotiations with Messi had ended. An agreed woody that was ne'er signed would person paid Messi 70 cardinal euros ($112m) adjacent season; a 50 per cent wage cut.
Laporta blamed Barcelona's erstwhile medication for the club's dire fiscal situation, which kept it from fitting Messi's caller declaration wrong the Spanish league's just play regulations.
He said helium hoped the league would person been much flexible with its rules but understood that it couldn't marque an objection adjacent if that meant losing Messi.
"There are nonsubjective reasons regarding the economical concern astatine the nine and an concern of that measurement with the declaration of Messi was risky," Laporta said.
"We wanted to presume those risks, but erstwhile we realised the existent concern of the nine aft the audit, it meant that we would person enactment the nine successful large risk."
He said Messi and the nine did everything to marque the declaration enactment but it wasn't imaginable without hurting Barcelona's finances. The archetypal woody rejected by the league was a two-year declaration payable successful 5 years, and the 2nd was a five-year contract.
"There comes a infinitesimal erstwhile you request to accidental 'enough'. You request to analyse rigorously with a acold caput and look astatine the numbers," Laporta said.
"And successful the Spanish league we person to abide by the rules. We deliberation they could beryllium much flexible, but that's not an excuse, we knew the regulation. We couldn't abide by it due to the fact that of the inheritance we had."
Laporta said Barcelona's losses doubled from astir 200 cardinal euros to 400 cardinal euros. The club's indebtedness precocious was astatine much than 1 cardinal euros and that wasn't lone due to the fact that of the coronavirus pandemic.
"There is nary borderline aft a calamitous concern that was each down to the erstwhile committee of administration," helium said.
Former President Josep Bartomeu resigned past twelvemonth on with his committee of directors amid his fallout with Messi and the club's fiscal struggles.
The Spanish league has prided itself successful having immoderate of the stricter economical controls for clubs successful Europe, keeping them from overspending and going into dense debt. With these controls it was capable to make a overmuch unchangeable and stronger league successful the past fewer years.
Barcelona's wage cap, which is astir proportional to 70 per cent of a club's revenue, was expected to beryllium slashed adjacent further this season. Laporta said for each 25 cardinal the nine spends connected a player, it has to marque up 100 cardinal successful headdress space, which "is not an casual process." He said the nine was already astatine its bounds without the Messi contract.
Laporta said caller backing precocious secured by the league worthy 2.7 cardinal euros (would person helped but the nine was against the woody due to the fact that it would person wounded the team's broadcasting rights revenues for the adjacent 50 years.
"We are not going to summation our wage bounds by selling our audiovisual rights for the adjacent 50 years," Laporta said. "This determination would person been risky."
League President Javier Tebas contested Laporta's statement and hinted that the caller funding, which besides has the absorption of Real Madrid and inactive needs to beryllium approved by the bulk of the clubs, would beryllium a solution to support Messi astatine the club.
Messi is leaving aft starring Barcelona into its astir glorious years. He helped the nine triumph 35 titles, including the Champions League 4 times, the Spanish league 10 times, the Copa del Rey 7 times and the Spanish Super Cup 8 times.
The 34-year-old Messi was yet to marque immoderate nationalist statements, and determination was not contiguous quality connected his future. Paris Saint-Germain was considered the front-runner to motion him aft Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola each but ruled retired the anticipation of adding Messi to his squad.
"Leo wanted to stay, truthful helium is not happy," Laporta said. "We each wanted him to stay. But for him close present it's a concern successful which helium has to face reality. It's a world that can't beryllium changed. I privation him the champion wherever helium goes."
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