Simply when it appeared as if it was solely a matter of days and even hours earlier than there could be a long-awaited announcement of free agent Lionel Messi rejoining Barcelona on a brand new deal, the membership introduced simply eight days earlier than the beginning of a brand new league season that Messi wouldn’t be returning.

A short while after, the membership distributed a Messi tribute video, cementing the once-unthinkable actuality that Barcelona and Messi are going their separate methods after 21 years.

There was one thing of a warning when Barcelona-based Spanish day by day Marca reported that there was a definite state of affairs that signing Messi wouldn’t be doable. The membership announcement got here a pair hours later, and it pointed the finger straight on the Spanish league, La Liga.

MORE: Lionel Messi formally joins PSG

Barcelona blames La Liga

Barcelona’s assertion stated, in no unsure phrases, that the membership and participant needed to do a deal — experiences in current weeks acknowledged that Messi, who turned a free agent on June 30, was ready to take a 50 % discount in wage to make it occur — however league laws made it an impossibility.

“Regardless of FC Barcelona and Lionel Messi having reached an settlement and the clear intention of each events to signal a brand new contract right now, this can not occur due to Spanish LaLiga laws on participant registration,” Barcelona’s assertion learn.

“On account of this example, Messi shall not be staying on at FC Barcelona. Each events deeply remorse that the desires of the participant and the membership will in the end not be fulfilled.”

Underneath La Liga guidelines that had been launched in 2013, there’s a floating wage cap for all groups which limits participant wages and acquisition prices to 70 % of membership revenues.

As a way to meet that requirement after a drastic discount in revenues as a result of affect of the COVID-19 pandemic, FC Barcelona entered this summer season offseason needing to shed nicely over $200 million in salaries simply to signal Messi. However the restricted switch exercise throughout Europe meant that the Blaugrana had been nowhere near that determine, and on Aug. 5, the membership and participant got here to the belief that the signing couldn’t occur underneath the circumstances.

So technically, it isn’t La Liga’s fault, however FC Barcelona’s failure to adjust to La Liga laws.

The announcement of an enormous personal fairness funding into La Liga and its golf equipment solely the day earlier than was interpreted by many as serving to Barcelona make the monetary headway it wanted to nearly assure the Messi deal. Projections primarily based on La Liga’s revenue-sharing formulation had Barcelona benefiting from a money infusion of over $300 million of the personal fairness cash, of which 15 % could be used for participant signings.

However apparently, each FC Barcelona and Actual Madrid, two of essentially the most closely indebted La Liga golf equipment and each founding members of the failed breakaway European Tremendous League, expressed their opposition to the personal fairness take care of CVC Capital Companions, which is about to obtain 10 % of La Liga’s media revenues in change. The plan was nonetheless authorized by La Liga’s 42 golf equipment in a 38-4 vote (Oviedo and Athletic Membership joined Actual Madrid and Barcelona in voting towards). The 4 dissenting golf equipment is not going to be a part of the “LaLiga Impulso”.

Observers say that accepting the cash would have amounted to the 2 giants financially attaching themselves to La Liga over the a long time to return and thus completely forgoing their Tremendous League ambitions. It is the one option to clarify why Barcelona, which is reportedly greater than $1 billion in debt, would refuse that sort of funding, which might have been on par with the projected money advance of the proposed Tremendous League. 

Was the Barcelona-Messi discuss all for present?

There’s one line of considering that Barcelona knew all alongside it was by no means going to be ready to signal Messi and match his wage inside its participant funds limits for the upcoming season. Given the way in which the switch season was shaping up, and with no takers for its high-salaried gamers, there was no manner that Barcelona may make room for Messi based on league guidelines.

As a result of Barca waited till per week earlier than the season to announce it, placing the fault squarely on La Liga and its onerous guidelines, some media are speculating that the false hope created over current weeks was a PR ploy to assist membership administration navigate the fan backlash that was positive to return with the pressured departure of Barcelona’s biggest participant. Within the courtroom of public notion, membership officers confirmed that at the very least they gave it an trustworthy attempt.

Some have gone as far as to suspect that Messi was additionally nicely conscious that he was by no means going to truly signal with Barcelona and that maybe he needed to maneuver on from the membership forward of the rebuilding venture that is dealing with the group. The “La Liga laws” are a handy excuse to depart the membership, making it appear as if he actually needed to be there and thus protecting his fame with the fan base intact.

As a free agent, Messi did not must decide on a pay lower in any case, in the end accepting a big-money provide from PSG.

Was Barcelona calling La Liga’s bluff?

One other group of cynics imagine the Barcelona assertion was an try to one way or the other pressure La Liga to vary the principles or carve out an exception for the membership.

The considering goes that La Liga as an enterprise couldn’t afford to lose Messi, particularly when it simply signed a TV rights take care of U.S. broadcaster ESPN price $175 million per yr deal over eight years ($1.4 billion). What worth would La Liga have with out Messi?

However La Liga president Javier Tebas has been steadfast in current months that there could be no bending of the principles and no particular remedy given to Messi or Barcelona. If Barcelona, with its again to the wall, was calling his bluff, it was more likely to be disenchanted, particularly since Tebas’s place was buoyed by the personal funding deal. And rule adjustments per week earlier than the season had been extremely unlikely. 

Barcelona president Joan Laporta dominated out any potential return at his press convention a day later: “I do not need to generate false hope,” he stated. “The negotiations with Messi have ended and it is introduced us right here with out an settlement due to the [La Liga] wage restrict. Leo needed to remain, so he isn’t joyful. All of us needed him to remain, however now, like us, he’s dealing with the truth of what is occurred. A actuality that may’t be modified.”

How is that this totally different from final summer season’s Messi drama?

Final yr, the state of affairs concerned different components. In the summertime of 2020, with one yr left on his four-year, $675-million Barcelona contract, Messi went public about his need to depart, citing a falling out with membership administration and a clause in his contract that he believed allowed him to depart. He claimed he had a verbal settlement with then-president Josep Bartomeu to honor the clause and launch him from his contract.

However when it turned clear that Bartomeu was not about to let the Barcelona legend stroll, Messi refused to take the membership to courtroom as a matter of precept and opted to stay round an additional season towards his needs.

Many believed that with Bartomeu leaving workplace and Joan Laporta taking his place earlier this yr, there was a superb likelihood that Laporta would discover a option to hold Messi at Barcelona given his shut relationship with him throughout his earlier tenure as membership president, when Barcelona had essentially the most profitable run in its historical past.

However possibly Laporta, too, knew of the seemingly end result all alongside regardless of campaigning for the presidency primarily based on his capacity to offer the membership its greatest likelihood to maintain Messi. The monetary state of affairs that Laporta (beneath) inherited is tenuous, and he knew it. We realized all about that actuality when he spoke to the media on Aug. 6 and outlined a monetary state of affairs that he says was a lot worse than what he was led to imagine, with losses of $572 million incurred within the 2020-2021 season.

It was a somber assembly with the media throughout which Laporta did not depart any room for a potential Messi return. Actually, he spoke about how Messi was already receiving curiosity from different golf equipment, although he stopped wanting sharing particulars. Laporta additionally talked about that Barcelona will probably be arranging for a option to honor the participant and provides him a correct send-off with followers. 

The blame sport shifted considerably in that press convention: Laporta stated he revered the La Liga ‘monetary honest play’ roster guidelines, and whereas they had been in the end the explanation Messi could not signal, he stated it was the earlier two membership administrations that put the membership in monetary disarray. Laporta despatched the message that if it weren’t for his or her mismanagement, Messi’s signing would not have been a difficulty. He identified how he held up his finish of the cut price by reaching an settlement with Messi. It simply wasn’t potential to execute it due to La Liga roster funds guidelines. 

The personal fairness cash being poured into La Liga would have helped, however Laporta stated Barcelona is not excited by taking it. He insisted that the membership didn’t agree with the monetary association and particularly, giving up 10 % of La Liga’s media revenues to the corporate, CVC Capital Companions, as a part of the deal.

“It could not be in Barca’s greatest pursuits,” Laporta stated. “We had been going to obtain some cash, however we predict that accepting it — and affecting our [revenue from] tv rights for the following 50 years — isn’t one thing we will do [to keep Messi]. It is too dangerous. The membership is above gamers, coaches and presidents.”

Messi’s tearful goodbye

It was Messi’s flip to inform his facet of the story, which he did throughout a tearful press convention held on August 8 in Barcelona:

Messi made it clear throughout the press convention that he by no means needed to depart, however that it is now inevitable that he would play for a direct competitor of Barcelona’s within the UEFA Champions League as a result of he desires to maintain profitable trophies. He stated a number of golf equipment had contacted him, together with Paris Saint-Germain, however he stopped wanting confirming the information of his signing with PSG.

“I’m actually unhappy as a result of I did not need to depart. That is the membership I like,” he stated. “I did not anticipate this. I’ve by no means lied. I’ve at all times been trustworthy and upfront. Final yr I needed to depart, this yr I did not. That is why I’m so unhappy.

“Because the president [Joan Laporta] has defined, the membership has debt [problems]. It isn’t potential. Why hold drawing it out if it is almost unattainable? The talks stopped since Barca didn’t need to go on. They knew La Liga wouldn’t let it occur, it was unattainable.

“I did every little thing I may to remain and it wasn’t potential. I provided to scale back my wage by 50 % and Barca did not ask for the rest. They did not ask for one more 30 %. That is a lie.

“I did not need to depart, however I’ve to. And I need to hold profitable. That is my mentality. I need to win.”

Messi left Barcelona followers with a number of hopeful traces in regards to the future:  

“My household and I had been satisfied we had been going to remain, that is what we needed greater than something. We’re at dwelling right here,” he stated. “Now I’ve to say goodbye to all of this. I’ve been right here since I used to be 13. After 21 years, I’m leaving with my spouse, with my three little Catalan-Argentine youngsters. I can not say that we can’t come again not directly as a result of that is our dwelling and I promised my kids we’d.

“Barca are among the best groups on the planet, they’ve an incredible facet,” he continued. “Extra gamers will come, not simply now however sooner or later. Gamers come and go. As Laporta stated, nobody individual comes earlier than the membership. At first, it will likely be bizarre, however folks will get used to it.”