Why FC Barcelona Broke Ties With Lionel Messi

It was a heartbreaking moment for footballer Lionel Messi as he said goodbye to Barcelona. On August 8, Lionel Messi announced to the world that he will be leaving FC Barcelona, This was the only club that Messi ever played for. He has been with Barca since the age of 13.  Messi's contract with the club expired earlier but he was set to sign a new contract with them on August 5. Unfortunately, the deal was called off.

This is an emotional moment for the star footballer as he has literally dedicated his life to the club. He joined the club at the age of 13 and since then has appeared in 778 matches and scored 672 goals for Barcelona. Messi and the club could not come to a final decision. The issue regarding a payment made things difficult and the club just couldn’t afford the footballer.

On July 1, Messi’s contract with Barcelona had expired. Last year, he made it clear that he will be leaving the club. But in some time, he changed his mind and wanted to come back to the team. Messi wanted to play with Barca and that made the administration happy. But coming to a common point became difficult.

Messi wished to come back but both parties couldn’t reach an agreement. Due to the Covid19 lockdown, the club had faced huge losses. The club was financially tight and do not have enough funds to retain the six-time Ballon D'or winner. The footballer even agreed to a pay cut. He agreed to a 50 percent reduced salary and come down to $85 million a year for the next five years. But even with all these changes which Messi was fine with, the club couldn’t afford him.

Nothing was possible for FC Barcelona, which lost $400 million due to the pandemic. Along with Messi, the club is expected to let go few other players as well. Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele, Philippe Coutinho, and Samuel Umtiti will mostly be leaving the club. The other retained players will see a pay cut.

As for Messi, there has been no official confirmation as to which group he will be going to next, but talks are on with French club Paris Saint Germain (PSG).