“I know Messi didn’t leave for financial reasons”
Status: 8:29 am
President Joan Laporta (r.) Is in need of an explanation after Lionel Messi’s departure
Quelle: Getty Images
Before the duel with Bayern, the renegade Lionel Messi employed FC Barcelona. Has the club really done everything to keep the six-time world footballer? League boss Javier Tebas has doubts.
NThe pain of leaving always has an effect. And it is always particularly big when, at irregular intervals, some protagonists of Spanish football have doubts that the exceptional player in the industry only left FC Barcelona for monetary reasons.
League boss Javier Tebas was the newest representative. “I know,” said the 59-year-old, “that Messi didn’t leave for financial reasons. Even if I respect the club’s decision, you have to tell the truth. It wasn’t an economic decision. “
It has been 39 days since the tearful separation between Lionel Messi and the club he loved. But the question of whether Barça has actually done everything to keep the six-time world footballer is still omnipresent. She drives the club before the Champions League duel with Bayern this Tuesday evening (9 p.m., in the sports ticker of the WELT).
“Solutions were sought”
Barcelona leaders around President Joan Laporta had always justified the transfer of the Argentine captain to Paris St. Germain with the fact that due to the high debt burden of more than 1.3 billion euros, he was almost unable to act for the rumored 50 million euros salary per annum continue to pay to Messi. But Tebas told the Catalan newspaper “Sport”: “I discussed the matter with Laporta and his board of directors. Solutions were sought. Unless the problem was financial … If it was for any other reason, I can’t judge it. I think next year, when Barça announces their financial figures, we’ll see if Messi could actually have stayed or not. “
Without his superstar and the French international striker Antoine Griezmann (Atlético Madrid) who had emigrated during the summer break, the team will now have to pass their first true school-leaving exam unusually early in the season against the German record champions. After a passable start in the league with seven points from three games, the duel with Bayern is a real determination of the position.
In November 2018, Javier Tebas (r.) Presented Lionel Messi with the award for the best player in the Spanish league in the 2017/18 season
Quelle: picture alliance / NurPhoto
Where the Catalans stand without their former high-flyer is an unsolved mystery even with their opponents. “I can’t really assess Barcelona at the moment,” said international Thomas Müller before leaving for Spain. “Without Messi it will be a different team. He is absolutely missing for the overall experience. “
Will you see Coutinho again?
It is still unclear who exactly will be part of the other team expected by Müller. The Danish EM semi-finalist Martin Braithwaite is out for weeks with a knee injury, which is why the two entrants Luuk de Jong (previously Sevilla FC) and Memphis Depay (Olympique Lyon) will form the Catalans’ strike duo. In addition, there could be a reunion for Bayern with the Brazilian Philippe Coutinho, who was loaned two years ago and is also a candidate for the starting XI.
In the fan camp, however, the encounter does not cause great excitement. Just 31,213 of the more than 57,000 season ticket holders ordered a ticket for the first game in Champions League Group E by Sunday. Is it because Messi was not there? Or in other continued quarrels?
Ronald Koeman during a training session in Barcelona on Monday
What: REUTERS
On Monday, coach Ronald Koeman admitted differences with club boss Laporta for the first time. “Yes, there were a few small things, but we talked and came to an agreement,” said the Dutchman.
Spanish media had previously reported “intense friction” between the two men. Laporta has only been in office since March, Koeman was signed a year ago by his predecessor Josep Bartomeu.
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