2 Reasons Barcelona Were Forced To Let Messi Go

Lionel Messi (Instagram @leomessi)

JAKARTA - Barcelona desperately wanted to keep Lionel Messi, while the Argentina captain wanted to stay at Camp Nou when he burst into tears when he held a farewell press conference on Sunday.

So, why did La Pulga leave the only club he played for during his 17-year professional career? Here are two answers as reported by Antara based on an AFP analysis.

La Liga salary limit rules

Barcelona admit they have no choice but to release the 34-year-old on a free transfer following the expiration of his contract in June as they struggle to cut their mounting debt of 1.2 billion euros (Rp 20.2 trillion).

Messi has agreed to a 50 per cent pay cut, and studies show Messi's commercial value to the club far exceeds his exorbitant salary.

However, the mounting debt and having to comply with the Spanish league's strict salary limits forced Messi to leave.

The Catalan club squandered the 222 million euros it received from PSG in 2017 following the transfer of Neymar, spending more than 100 million euros on the likes of Philippe Coutinho, Antoine Griezmann and Ousname Dembele.

President Joan Laporta admitted losses over the past season alone amounted to nearly 500 million euros (Rp 8.45 trillion) and stressed he did not want to "pawn up" Barca's future just for the sake of players, including Messi.

Clubs in Spain's top two divisions have lost 2.013 billion euros in revenue during the 2019-20 and 2020-2021 seasons due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

La Liga rules state that Spanish clubs are prohibited from exceeding the total salary limit set by the league itself which in Barca's case was 348 million euros (Rp 5.8 trillion) during last season, down from 671.4 million euros (Rp 11.3 trillion). ) from the previous season.

Last season Barca were still allowed to cross that line but now La Liga is not willing to tolerate further deviations.

Laporta admits that Barca's salary bill with Messi will reach 110 percent of the club's revenue. Keeping Messi will make the salary burden too high so this player cannot be maintained.

No new contracts, including Messi

Some have asked why Messi, if this player loves the club so much, can't stay and play for nothing.

The answer would be ridiculous if the best player in the world would or should agree to the proposal. This is impossible.

Without being in line with the salary limit rules, Barcelona are prohibited from registering new players. Given that Messi's previous contract expired last June, then he will be considered a new player.

It also raises questions around the club's announced summer signings, with Memphis Depay, Sergio Aguero and Eric Garcia already signed on a free transfer and Emerson Royal joining from Real Betis.

Some may ask why La Liga cannot be flexible, given that Messi is a huge global attraction for Spanish football.

Uefa has relaxed financial fair rules to help clubs hit by the pandemic, but the Spanish league has been adamant it won't make any concessions.