No new contract – Messi era at FC Barcelona ended

Status: 8:40 p.m.| Reading time: 3 minutes

Dhe almost unimaginable has come true: Lionel Messi no longer plays for FC Barcelona. The 34-year-old soccer superstar – already without a club since July 1st – will not sign a new contract with his club, which is his heart.

The negotiations broke down practically at the last minute on Thursday. What supposedly began around 21 years ago with a signature on a napkin and led to 35 joint titles, among other things, ended with an eight-line press release.

“Even if FC Barcelona and Lionel Messi have reached an agreement and there was a clear intention of both parties to sign a new contract today, this cannot happen due to financial and structural obstacles (Spanish League rules),” the statement said. “Both sides deeply regret that the wishes of the player and the club are ultimately not fulfilled.”

672 hits in 778 games

The association did not initially provide details of why it was not possible to continue the collaboration. It could be the rules of financial fair play in Messi’s adopted home. The league sets the upper limits of the total allowable amount for club salaries. The upper limit should result from the difference between income and expenditure.

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The fact is, however, that what is looking for its equal in sport is over. In addition to a total of 35 titles with FC Barcelona, ​​Messi was the top scorer with 672 goals in the club’s 121-year history. He played 778 games for FC Barcelona, ​​which brought him from Rosario in Argentina in 2000 as a 13-year-old.

The big question now is: where is the six-time world footballer going? Pep Guardiola, his former success coach at FC Barcelona, ​​and Manchester City were and are traded again and again. Paris Saint-Germain could certainly afford the six-time world footballer who recently celebrated the long-awaited first title triumph with the national team and won the Copa America.

Messi, who lives around 20 kilometers from Barcelona with his three sons and wife, has not yet commented.

Dispute 2020

His departure from Barcelona had been on the horizon for a while. A year ago he pushed hard to leave the club. Indiscretions that had harmed him and the team, plus sporting low blows such as the disastrous 2: 8 in the quarter-finals of the Champions League against FC Bayern Munich had permanently damaged the exceptional footballer’s relationship with the club.

Messi wanted to leave, but the insane 700 million euros stipulated as a transfer fee and the veto of the club’s president at the time, Josep Bartomeu, prevented him. The fact that striker partner Luis Suárez was later sold and celebrated the championship title with Atlético Madrid did not exactly alleviate Messi’s displeasure.

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In March of this year, Joan Laporte returned to the post of club boss, hopes growing again that Messi would appease and opt for another contract. Laporte had already been president when Messi’s professional career at Barça began at the age of 17.

At the end of May, FC Barcelona announced that Messi’s buddy Sergio Agüero (Manchester City) would be coming. The matter then actually seemed clear, according to media reports, Messi even wanted to forego half of his previous salary and sign for another five years. After his family vacation in Miami and Ibiza, everything should be made clear. But then everything turned out differently.