BARCELONA chief Joan Laporta has revealed the club still owe Lionel Messi TWO YEARS worth of payments relating to his final seasons at the club.
The revelation comes amid a developing war of words between Messi and Barcelona, with both sides offering different accounts as to why a reunion never came to fruition.
Messi said after joining Inter Miami that the reason a move back to Barcelona never materialised was down to his previous experience with the club and its financial issues.
When Messi left Barcelona in 2021, the club was in a dire financial situation with a number of high-profile players being forced into taking pay cuts.
There was even a suggestion that the likes of Gerard Pique and Lionel Messi would play for free to help ease the club’s financial situation.
Messi said that similar issues were still present this summer and were ultimately the reason he did not return to the Nou Camp.
READ MORE ON FOOTBALL
He said: “I really wanted [to join Barcelona], I was very excited to be able to return, but after having experienced what I experienced and the exit I had, I did not want to be in the same situation again.
“I heard that they had to sell players or lower players’ salaries and the truth is that I didn’t want to go through that, nor take charge of obtaining something that had to do with all that.”
In an interview with Catalan outlet La Vanguardia, Barca President Laporta confirmed that the financial issues that came between the club and Messi had not been completely ironed out – with Barcelona still owing Messi money.
He said: “What is owed to him is the deferral of the salary bill that was agreed with the previous board and that produces pending payments that end in 2025.”
Most read in Football
BETTING SPECIAL – BEST NO DEPOSIT CASINO OFFERS
Laporta however denied that Barcelona would have faced a similar situation had they signed Messi this summer.
He said: “We had an agreement with LaLiga that we would dedicate part of the resources we have to Messi. Within the feasibility plan It was contemplated.
He then appeared to take a swipe at the Barca legend when he suggested Messi no longer wants to play in the pressurised environment of a top European league.
Laporta continued: “We communicated [the proposal] to Jorge Messi. He told me that Leo had had a very difficult year in Paris and that he wanted less pressure.
“With our option, he would have continued to have pressure and I understood his decision. Good luck to him and we start preparing his super tribute.”
Lionel Messi’s first game for Inter Miami is expected to be against Mexican side Cruz Azul on July 21 as part of the Leagues Cup – which sees MLS sides face off with teams from Liga MX.
The David Beckham-owned franchise will need all the help Messi can give, with the club currently rock-bottom of the MLS.
As part of Laporta’s interview with La Vanguardia, the Barca President also revealed that he expects Clement Lenglet to join Tottenham on a permanent deal this summer.
He said: “I think Tottenham will reach an agreement for Lenglet. This almost never goes fast. It depends on the other party. For us, they are all cases that would have been solved yesterday”.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
