Posted on November 26, 2021 at 6:00 a.m. by Th.B.
While FC Barcelona could count on Lionel Messi's backing for two different contracts, club culé had no choice but to let him go due to his inability to renew his contract. News that the FC Barcelona dressing room would not have assimilated immediately.
In the wake of the election of Joan Laporta as president of FC Barcelona last March, the message of the new Barça boss was clear to Lionel Messi : he will have the possibility of retiring from the club as Fabrizio Romano has confided in his last hours. Nevertheless, Laporta has over the weeks become aware of the enormous financial difficulties facing FC Barcelona . And while Lionel Messi had accepted a two-year contract with an additional and optional third year, as well as a five-year contract, he received the bad news when he returned from vacation in Ibiza in early August. An outcome that did not fail to shock the locker room.
Barça's dressing room didn't believe it
“Leo Messi is in Barcelona at the beginning of August directly from Ibiza with his father Jorge to sign a new contract. It's an amazing story for the transfer market because imagine the Barcelona team, they already had the ad in place. Scheduled overnight at 8 p.m. to announce that Leo Messi is staying, but Barcelona are not getting the right feedback from La Liga to approve the contract. In secret, Barcelona and Messi himself, they have a deadline. We have to sign today or Leo will be free to sign with any other club after August 5th. During the meeting, Barcelona are not given the green light to sign the contract, due to Barcelona's salary situation. And then, at 7 p.m., Barcelona announce that Leo Messi is leaving the club. It's a huge shock. And let me tell you in the Barcelona dressing room they don't trust this news. Even though it was official with the official announcement on the Barcelona website. They still hope it is a strategy by Joan Laporta to force La Liga to change the situation and accept the contract of Leo Messi ”. reporter Fabrizio Romano assured on the Inside The Transfer column for CBS Sports.