Many were shocked yesterday when Barcelona announced that Lionel Messi was leaving yet the writing was on the wall and I was wondering what was taking so long. Obviously the club was hoping for a miracle form La Liga and that was never going to be the case.
I wrote a post about Barcelona and the financial implications they now find themselves in last month so Messi leaving is the right call and only call they have. Have a look at the current salaries they pay out yearly and weekly and let those numbers sink in first before I let you know what they are allowed to spend.
La Liga controls the Spanish League including approving what players the clubs are buying and selling. Remember last season when Messi wanted to leave and La Liga refused as they were holding his contract. Messi was an important part of the La Liga business model as he attracted attention to the Spanish League worth Billions in television rights and advertising revenue.
Back in 2011/2012 Barcelona signed up to the Financial fair play agreement and have to abide by the rules. The club is reportedly in debt to the tune of 1 billion but reports suggest it is far worse than anyone could have imagined.
Doesn't matter how good he was if you cannot afford him then it is just tough as the club comes first.
Here are the telling figures and why they are in serious trouble.
The club last season spent €676 Million (10% Messi) and this year have €388 Million which is a reduction of €288 Million. Weekly it highlights how bad things really are as they are allowed €7.4 Million compared to the €33 Million they were spending. That is a loss of nearly €26 Million per week in salaries which will include coaches etc and not just players.
All players in the squad have been asked to reduce their salaries by 40-50% and even then it may be tight. This is not including Messi as halving his salary is like having 5 or 10 more players depending on their salaries. The truth is the club cannot afford him anymore and he has to leave.
Some thought it was a ploy to get the La Liga board to change their mind and maybe subsidise his salary but that would be highly unfair on the other teams in the League. They cannot back down as Barcelona has done this all on their own with very poor accounting and managing skills. They are doing the opposite of how to run a club and now must suffer the consequences. The club is in theory flat broke and are lucky to not be penalised points for this season or be kicked out the League and demoted.
How stupid are they as last season they could have at least sold Messi and now let him disappear on a free transfer because they cannot afford to renew his contract. Messi knew things were bad and why he was a little stunned to hear the club cannot afford to resign him even though he took a 50% cut in his salary. Doing the maths it doesn't take a genius to see they are nearly 5 x over their weekly budget and even a 40 or 50% cut on players salaries will still leave them more than 2x of where they have to be. Other players will have to leave as more cuts are required.
The club needs youngsters coming through their academy as they have no other choice as this is going to be a team of no stars by the time Barcelona restructures setting them back years. Don't expect to see Barcelona in the Champions League year after year as this is not going to happen.
Hard to believe Barca is in such despair. Where are the TV deals?
Messi will have to go some place else.
Is he staying in la Liga ?
No as no other club in Spain can afford him on their books. He looks as though it is PSG for now or who knows with Chelsea and Manchester City. I expect two seasons and then to the MLS to end his career.
La Liga is trying to sell 10% of the tv deal to another outside company for $2.4 billion but Barcelona and Real Madrid have refused it as it is for 50 years and cannot afford to lose 10% of whatever tv deals come around in the years ahead. The tv deals are not like the UK with the Premiership and don't bring in the same revenue.
That's right, Bartomeu was a complete disaster as a president and one of the reasons he refused to let Messi go was to not write his name in the history books as the president who lost Messi. Now Laporta will be forever remembered as the president who lost Messi but the causes of this economic debacle are Bartomeu's fault.
I think it will be extremely difficult for them to win the league in the coming years especially if Real Madrid signs Mbappe, but playing the Champions League isn't at risk in my opinion. Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid could finish above Barcelona but which other team can do that? Even without Messi Barcelona is still better than Sevilla, Real Sociedad, and other good clubs, so in my case, I do think they will continue to compete in the Champions but I don't think they are going to have high chances of winning that trophy. Also, the champions league might become irrelevant if the Superleague plans end up being successful and Barcelona has a secure spot in the Superleague since they are a founder club.
I hope Messi decides to go to PSG because that will increase the chances of Mbappe signing for Real Madrid.
If you look at the numbers Messi is the first of many that has to go and this is not over yet. They think if they let Messi go it will save the rest of the team but they are still twice over the cost cap with players taking a 50% cut in salaries. I do expect another 6 or 7 players to be let go.
A couple of the guys were talking about how Barcelona wouldn't be the same without him. I doubt it, cause they have quality players and have always found a way
This is so different now though as they have literally no funds and looking at the books they still need to offload players. They will take years to recover from this and expect no big signings for many years to come. This is a massive hole they are in and who knows if they can fix this as $1 Billion is the public figure but they saying it is actually much more.
Barcelona cannot be hoping for a miracle when they can't accept the options Lionel Messi brought to them by slashing his salary by 50% yet Barcelona insisted that they don't have the capacity to continue his payment why will be be hoping for a miracle?
I was not surprised sincerely that Messi left the team and that Barcelona has not had how to cover his salary, as you say in your post they are practically bankrupt and it is something too bad after they were a club that was everywhere with a lot of money and many things and, now they have almost nothing "they don't have a star in their 11 and in their club".
But well, Messi already left the club now he just has to hope that one can cover his salary and where he can feel comfortable in it. I could see that PSG and Manchester City are teams that want him and surely can pay his salary. I honestly don't know what is going to happen with the little guy. This is all so crazy that I don't want to know anymore.
It will be nice to see lionel messi in another shirt. I'm not surprised about his leaving barcelona
It will be nice to see lionel messi in another shirt. I'm not surprised about his leaving barcelona
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Although Messi is already 34 years old, he still has a game left. His departure from Barcelona was a chronicle of an announced death. It was known that the club does not have money to cover their stay. Wait for us in which league you dare to pay what you ask for. For me I could play in Italy, France or England.