Lionel Messi to leave FC Barcelona

LIONEL MESSI is to leave LaLiga club FC Barcelona due to the new financial restrictions that have been put in place

The football world is in shock this evening, Thursday, August 5, as FC Barcelona announced that the legendary Lionel Messi will no longer be their player, after making his debut back in October 2004, aged 17.

During a trophy-laden career, Messi, arguably the world’s greatest player during his era, has won a record six Ballon d’Or awards, 10 LaLiga titles, seven Copa del Rey winner’s medals, four UEFA Champions League titles, has scored the most goals ever in LaLiga, with 474 strikes, and of any player in a European season, scoring 50 times in the 2011-12 season, has scored the most hat-tricks in LaLiga (36), and in the Champions League (8)

The little Argentine has scored over 750 goals for club and country, overtaking another legend, Pele, to become the player to score the most times for one single club.

Jorge Messi had landed in Barcelona today, and Lionel Messi had returned from his holiday on Wednesday, both prepared to sign a new contract – which had allegedly been verbally agreed back in July – his tenth contract with Barça since September 17, 2000, when he first signed, aged 13, but, after the Catalan club’s president Joan Laporta‘s call to Jorge, a statement was issued that said, “Both parties deeply regret that the wishes of both the player and the club cannot finally be fulfilled”.

After the Catalan club had allegedly spent €506 million euros on first-team salaries last season, LaLiga limited Barça’s expenses for the 2021-22 season to €347 million, and it is reported that Mateu Alemany, football director, and Ferran Reverter, general director, had been in contact with Javier Tebas, the president of LaLiga, to try to increase the salary mass of the first team, but were told, “Barça knows the rules and there is no exception with Messi. Barça has good professionals. It has Mateu Alemany, who has fought in the best places with Valencia and knows the economic control very well”, as reported by elpais.com.

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Written by

Chris King

Originally from Wales, Chris spent years on the Costa del Sol before moving to the Algarve where he is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com

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