The president of Barcelona, Joan Laporta, made a striking statement about the farewell of Lionel Messi from the Catalan club to go to Paris Saint Germain, assuring that he maintained “the hope that Messi would play for free.” According to the Catalan leader, his illusion was that the star did not get paid during the current season, as a solution so that the entity could comply with the financial rules of the Spanish League, a conflict that led to the departure of the Argentine star to France last August.
“I appreciate Messi very much to get angry with him, but there comes a time when both parties see that it will not be possible, there is some disappointment. He wanted to stay but there was also a lot of pressure for the offer he had,” said the leader in an interview with RAC1 radio. “For a moment I hoped that Messi would play for free,” Laporta confessed before admitting that “there was no margin” to adapt Messi’s new contract to the demands of financial fair play.
The Barcelona club recorded losses of 481 million euros last season and accumulated a debt and future commitments of 1,350 million euros, which was decisive for the impossibility of registering the new agreement with the captain of the Argentine national team. “We had the conclusions of the audit and the investment in Leo could put us at risk. Barça is above any player,” justified the Catalan leader.
On the other hand, the president ratified the continuity of the technical director Ronald Koeman, who “deserves a margin of confidence” despite the bad campaign of the team in the European Champions League and the irregular march in LaLiga “At no time did I say that Koeman I was not going to continue. The decision is that Koeman continues. When things do not go the way you want, we are all discouraged. I asked him if he trusted the team. “Of course I trust. I need to recover the injured,” he told me. He wanted to continue to at all costs and show that this team is competitive, “said Laporta.
Barcelona lost by a landslide the two games played so far in the Champions League (0-3 vs Bayern Munich and Benfica) and in the local tournament it was eighth with 12 points in seven games, after falling last Saturday against the last champion, Atlético Madrid.
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