Interim Barcelona president admits he would have sold club legend.
Carles Tusquets, the Barcelona interim president, has admitted had he been in charge during the summer, he would have sold Lionel Messi.
The statement came in an interview with radio outlet RAC1 where he answered a variety of questions including the one about the club’s superstar.
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"“Economically speaking, I would have sold Leo Messi in the summer transfer market. As much for what you save in terms as salary as for what fee you would get.“But this needs to be agreed with the technical team . La Liga has put a salary limit on us and this would have helped with that.”Source: Sport"
In other words, he would have sold Messi not only because of the potential fee the club could have received but the amount they would be saving in terms of wages.
As we all remember, the Argentine wanted to leave and sent the now-infamous burofax, officially handing in a transfer request.
His request was denied by former president Josep Maria Bartomeu as he did not want to be remembered as the president who lost the best player in Barcelona history.
Tusquets also admitted that the club remain in a worrying financial situation and have received a bill from the previous administration that they do not want to sign. He did not say what the bill was for but “they are things that are not well formulated, nor do we think they fit the market price.”
Tusquets: "We have received some bills from the previous board that we don't want to sign. We will move them to the next meeting. I will not say what they are, but they are things that are not well formulated, nor do we think they fit the market price."
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) December 3, 2020
Messi’s future with Barcelona is still very much in the air with the player’s contract ending in the summer of next year. He has been linked with a move to Manchester City and the Premier League side could hold talks with him as soon as January.
Some of the candidates running for president, including possible frontrunners Joan Laporta and Victor Font, have said they would like to speak to Messi and convince him to stay. The presidential elections are set to place on January 24.