BarcelonaIt’s been a couple of months since Leo Messi left Barça, but the memory of the Argentine striker remains indelible among fans. Many wonder if it was really impossible for him to renew; a question that is also constantly asked by current club managers. The answer is not easy. It is true that the footballer would have wanted to continue, but the economic situation had left the entity with no room for maneuver. One last option was for Messi to agree to play without charge. President Laporta, however, did not dare to make the proposal. He didn’t offer it either. In between, Paris Saint-Germain had already made a powerful offer to the striker. And finally, the negotiations between Barça and the League – to accept the money from the CVC fund and have oxygen for the renewal – ended up being broken. The end of the story is already known: Messi did not renew and a week later signed for PSG.
The departure of Leo Messi has been one of the main topics of the interview given by Joan Laporta to RAC1. “With Messi I don’t get angry because I appreciate him. But when we see that he can’t be there is a certain disappointment on both sides. I know he had a huge desire to stay, but also a lot of pressure for the offer they had “, replied the president, who confirmed that PSG had already contacted Jorge Messi – the player’s father and representative – long before the 10th farewell was announced.
“Once the decision is made, I never think about going backwards. I think I’m doing my best for Barça. No one can put the institution at risk,” said Laporta. However, there was an option, but it was not given: “I had hoped that at the last minute Messi would say that he would play for free. I would have liked that and convinced him. I understand that the League I would have accepted. But we couldn’t ask a player of his level to do that. “
Laporta, who has not denied that Messi demanded that the club sign defender Romero as a precondition for the renewal, has avoided criticizing the Argentine striker. On the agreement with CVC that would have allowed Barça to increase the salary cap and renew the striker, he insisted that “Barça could not commit to an option like this, which was not well enough studied and which meant we had even more debt “.
The Camp Nou will have 110,000 seats
In the interview, Laporta also confirmed that Barça could join the agreement with CVC at the last minute, but that the essential condition is that the clauses of the agreement change, a fact that the League does not foresee at the moment. He also spoke about the Espai Barça, reiterated his desire to start work in the summer of 2022 and added that the new Camp Nou will have a capacity for 110,000 spectators. Finally, he said that it will not be possible to play there for a year – as long as the roof is installed – and that the field with the largest number of temporary headquarters is the Johan Cruyff Stadium, which would expand its capacity to to 50,000 spectators with extra stands.
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