We want Lionel Messi to stay but still have financial fair play to sort out, admits Joan Laporta
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has revealed that while the Catalan giants want Lionel Messi to stay, they still need to sort out the financial fair play issues. The Argentine’s contract expired at midnight on July 1st with him now officially a free agent and capable of signing for anyone.
With Lionel Messi’s €500 million, over four years, contract expiring at the stroke of midnight on June 1st, it has many fans and critics concerned that no agreement has been reached. However, while reports have indicated otherwise, Barcelona have financial issues that go well beyond Messi’s contract and it has thus affected the Argentine’s deal. La Liga president Javier Tebas has already warned the club that they need to cut their salary cap before any new deal for the Argentine.
However, the La Liga giants have cut down their salary cap by half, from €671 million, since the pandemic started with them selling and releasing players but that hasn’t been enough. It saw Joan Laporta confirm that the club wants Messi to stay and that he wants to stay but no contract extension can be announced until the club sorts out the financial fair play issues. Laporta further added that they’re in the process of trying to find the best possible solution for everyone.
"We want him to stay and Leo wants to stay; everything is on track. We still have the financial fair play to sort out ... we're in the process of finding the best solution for all parties," Laporta said, reported ESPN.