Former Barcelona President Reveals Who Was to Blame for Messi's Departure

In 2021, Lionel Messi bid farewell to Camp Nou, making a high-profile move to Paris Saint-Germain. This departure was largely due to severe financial woes plaguing Barcelona, which ultimately led to his exit as a free agent. Now, the former president of Barcelona has shed light on who he believes is truly responsible for Messi's departure.

Conversely, the current president of the "Blaugrana," Joan Laporta, has consistently argued that Josep Maria Bartomeu and his previous administration were to blame for Messi's exit, citing their tenure as a period of financial devastation for the club.

Bartomeu, however, has vehemently rejected these accusations. Regarding Laporta's administration, he stated: “If they had done what was necessary, it would have been entirely feasible to renew Messi's contract and make new signings.”

“The issue wasn't the legacy, but rather financial fair play, because the new management inflated the losses to 555 million euros. When La Liga received these figures, they decided to conduct a second audit and concluded that the losses were not as declared, as there were provisions amounting to 283 million euros. But Barcelona chose to stick to their proposal, La Liga applied the rules, and the club incurred a financial fair play penalty, which they have not recovered from to this day,” he added.

It's worth noting that Bartomeu was reportedly the one who prevented Messi from leaving in 2020, when the Argentine superstar first expressed his desire to depart the team. He was ultimately persuaded to stay, but the global COVID-19 pandemic made life increasingly difficult for clubs worldwide.

Nevertheless, sooner or later, Messi's departure became inevitable. The Argentine left Barcelona with an incredible record of 672 goals and 34 trophies to his name.