Lionel Messi ‘fed up’ with Barcelona president Joan Laporta as latest interview irks PSG star and his entourage - Reports
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) star Lionel Messi, as well as his entourage, is reportedly fed up with Barcelona president Joan Laporta.
This is according to notable Catalan publication Sport, who confirmed the claim from Cadena SER's El Larguero that Laporta's continual discussions about the former Barca star have become irksome.
Lionel Messi and his family after PSG's title win. https://t.co/TbP4J2KrBl
Although Messi left the Camp Nou nearly a year ago, the Blaugrana president still grants interviews to discuss the star. In his latest interview with L'Esportiu (via Sport), Laporta said of Lionel Messi:
"The Messi thing was as it was. We all would have wanted him to have finished his sporting life at Barça and for whatever reasons, it couldn't be. It couldn't be because of the 'fair play' of the Spanish League and because of the proposal of the PSG. These players when they enter a dynamic like this, they find that they cannot leave because the operations are of many millions of euros."
34 Matches | 32 Starts
11 Goals
14 Assists
Ligue 1
Leo Messi in his first season at PSG:
👕 34 Matches | 32 Starts
⚽ 11 Goals
🎁 14 Assists
🏆 Ligue 1 https://t.co/2irEJ0inOv
These recent statements have reportedly gotten the PSG star and his entourage fed up with Laporta. It is also believed that the star's father, Jorge, called up the Barcelona president months ago to request that he avoid talking about Messi publicly.
Why did Lionel Messi leave Barcelona for PSG?
In simple terms, the Spanish giants did not have the financial capacity to maintain Messi's massive contract and keep him at Camp Nou. This was due to La Liga's restrictions, which ensured that no club spent more than 70% of revenue on player acquisition and wages.
Understanding just how enormous Messi's salary was, however, sheds some light on how a club as big as Barca couldn't make the deal happen without flouting the rules.
As revealed by El Mundo last year (via Fabrizio Romano), the legendary playmaker earned a stunning €555,237,619 across four years. This didn't include the added variables like a renewal fee of €115,225,000 and a loyalty bonus of €77,929,955.
With COVID-19 pushing many clubs into financial straits, Barca had no chance of meeting the large revenue required to renew this hefty contract. Even though Messi agreed to halve his salary, it was still impossible for Barcelona to pay, and eventually the star moved to PSG.