Barcelona: Lionel Messi registration was not possible even after Antoine Griezmann exit

Lionel Messi parted ways with his beloved club Barcelona after the club was not able to find an economic solution to register him. The Argentine did everything possible on his part, even accepting a 50% wage cut and taking the two year salary spread over five years but it was still not economically viable.

The club’s wage turnover stood at 110% which is extremely unhealthy for any club, let alone Barcelona. Barcelona’s wage budget for 2019-20 was 671 million euros. For a club to operate efficiently, the wage to revenue turnover should not cross more than 70%.

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A verbal agreement had been reached between Barcelona and Messi but when Joan Laporta extensively looked at the club’s audit numbers, it was understood that the 34 year old’s renewal was impossible because of the Financial Fair Play regulations and La Liga’s salary cap.

On the final day of the transfer window, Barcelona even managed to offload Antoine Griezmann to Atletico Madrid, another big money signing who just didn’t fit in the Barcelona system. Through his departure, Barcelona managed to further lower the wage to revenue ratio as Griezmann had been pocketing 19 million euros this season and had already taken home 46.5 million in two seasons.

Lionel Messi registration wouldn’t have been possible despite Griezmann’ Barcelona departure

Laporta has now opened about Messi’s sad departure and how Barcelona’s finances stand at this point in time. He reiterated that even if Griezmann was sold earlier in the window, the Blaugrana would have fallen short in registering their legend, talisman and treasured player Messi.

"“What happened is what has been explained.There is objective data. Everyone can compare it. We were pressured that we would either sign the CVC loan [deal] or there is no fair play. There was no margin.There was a pre-agreement [with Messi] and we had shaken hands. There were several agreements and La Liga seemed to accept it, but then they said no without CVC. We didn’t think that the situation was going to improve and we put an end to it.Messi could not have stayed even with Griezmann’s [departure] and with the salary reduction of the captains. But it is important that we have lowered the salary cap because next year we can be more ambitious.” (via Goal)"

Barcelona have sent Griezmann on loan to Atletico Madrid with an option to buy but the option becomes mandatory if the Frenchman features in 50% of the games he’s available. The La Liga champions will then have to pay 40 million euros to make the deal permanent next summer. Considering the success the 30 year old has had with Los Rojiblancos and the admiration of Diego Simeone for Griezmann, he’s likely to play a key role as Atleti look to defend their La Liga crown.

Meanwhile, the Catalans signed Luuk de Jong on loan on deadline day to bolster the striking options. As for Barcelona, they continue to rebuild from the financial ruins and aim to do the best in league and Champions League this season as youngsters like Pedri and Ansu Fati take on key roles in the team.

Will Lionel Messi return to Barcelona and retire at the club as predicted by a former Barca player?