Sports

BREAKING: Lionel Messi will not continue at Barcelona

Published

3 years ago

August 5, 2021

Another shocking turn in the Lionel Messi saga. Diario MARCA has published a report saying it’s “almost impossible” that Messi will renew his FC Barcelona contract..

“There has been a radical turnaround in the case of Lionel Messi’s renewal with Barcelona, with recent information being that the deal was close to being announced, yet a blockbuster revelation has suggested that Barcelona will now not be able to re-sign the Argentine,” claims the Madrid-based paper.

This news comes in stark contrast with previous reports, which claimed that an investment made by the company CVC into La Liga would make it easier for the Catalans to stay under the salary cap with Messi taking a 50% pay cut.

This new report says that while the cash injection would help, it would still keep the situation quite fraught in terms of the wage bill.

And one big complication is that were La Liga to accept the cash injection, the big teams would be forced to abandon the European Super League concept. This is something that Real Madrid and Barcelona are resistant to doing.

This means that, according to MARCA, we are left with “a situation whereby Barcelona extending Messi’s contract and moving forward with the Super League plans are impossible to do together.”

Multiple sources and reporters have been unable to confirm or deny the rumor.

However, there is a report from Catalan radio which says that while it’s true that things are more complicated than first expected, it is still not impossible for Messi to continue at Barcelona..

FC Barcelona issue an official statement that Messi will NOT extend his expired Barca contract

The Argentine star’s latest deal expired this summer but he was expected to commit to a new contract ahead of the new season.

Messi held talks with the club on Thursday but the meeting did not go well and the Catalan side have confirmed he will not return.

A statement on the club’s website read: “Despite FC Barcelona and Lionel Messi having reached an agreement and the clear intention of both parties to sign a new contract today, this cannot happen because of financial and structural obstacles (Spanish Liga regulations).

“As a result of this situation, Messi shall not be staying on at FC Barcelona. Both parties deeply regret that the wishes of the player and the club will ultimately not be fulfilled.

“FC Barcelona wholeheartedly expresses its gratitude to the player for his contribution to the aggrandisement of the club and wishes him all the very best for the future in his personal and professional life.”

What will happen next in this whirlwind?