Lionel Messi will not continue his career at Barcelona.
Rosario's new contract with Barcelona fell this Thursday afternoon after the last meeting between the player's father and representative, Jorge, and the president of the Barça entity, Joan Laporta.
"The contract could not be formalized due to economic and structural obstacles (LaLiga regulations)," reported Barcelona.
Jorge Messi landed in Barcelona this Thursday.
The footballer had returned from his vacation on Wednesday.
In the Argentine's office they were already prepared to make official the new contract with Barça, the tenth of his career with the Barça entity.
After spending approximately 506 million euros on the salaries of the first team last season, LaLiga limited Barça's expenses: 347 million for the 2021-2022 academic year. An amount that could be raised after LaLiga's agreement with the international investment fund CVC, which could inject about 284 million into the club's coffers. At Barça they were skeptical of the pact. “It is about selling the television rights for 40 years. We do not know if we will be in the Super League or where we will be ”, say sources from the Catalan entity. The intention of the Barça economic area is to allocate 70% of these new income to
Espai Barça
, 15% to reduce debt and the remaining 15% for salaries of the first team.
The last salary of the 10, between fixed and variable, was 138 million.
A commitment impossible to assume in the face of the limitations of the employer and, above all, in the delicate economic situation that the club is going through.
According to sources in the negotiation, Messi had accepted a 50% cut in his salary.
The club, in return, had offered him a five-year contract.
It was already agreed how the contract was going to be paid: 20 million in the first season so that Barcelona can accommodate the wage bill, a strong increase in the second season and it would decrease again in the last three.
A year after Messi threatened to say goodbye to his differences with Josep Maria Bartomeu, Laporta could not retain the Rosario.
It had been his electoral promise.
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