Rumors of Messi leaving Barcelona were not new heading into the summer of 2021. For several years, multiple sources had claimed that the Argentine was unhappy with the situation at the club, which made him want to leave.
In the summer of 2020, a huge scandal occurred regarding a leaked burofax that reportedly quoted Messi asking the club to allow him to depart. This was a letter sent by him to former president Josep Bartomeu, who ultimately rejected his appeal.
Messi admitted that there were talks between the two parties but also insisted that he would remain committed to the club — and he did. With 38 goals and 14 assists in 47 games, the Messi that the Cules loved and were used to was still theirs.
However, little did they know that would be their last season witnessing his magic. In the summer of 2021, he would leave his home for unfamiliar waters in French Ligue 1.
2021 was turning out to be a rather good year for Messi. That July, for the first time in his career, he won an international trophy with Argentina when he lifted the Copa América in Brazil. Barcelona fans, too, couldn’t help but feel happy that the man who had suffered so many heartbreaks with his country over the years was finally in dreamland.
After the Copa América, Messi took a vacation with his family, following which he returned to Barcelona to sign his new deal — a reported two-year contract.
However, just a day before he was scheduled to put pen to paper, new president Joan Laporta informed him that he had to leave.
Barcelona had been struggling financially for several years, and their salary cap was far too high due to exorbitant salaries paid to some players over the years. In La Liga, the wage structure is determined by the financial performance of a club, and in Barcelona’s case, it was not healthy.
Even though Messi had agreed to a 50% pay cut, Barcelona still could not afford to register him. The press release went out shortly after Messi was informed, and all hell broke loose in the city.
Thousands of upset Barcelona fans flooded the streets, bewildered at how things had turned upside down in just a matter of hours. But there was nothing to be done. Messi had officially left Barcelona on a free transfer, and just a few months later, joined Paris Saint-Germain.
After two years in France, Messi was done with Ligue 1. He wanted a new challenge and, admittedly, was eyeing a Barcelona return. In an interview with The Athletic, he spoke about how he considered rejoining Barca ahead of the 2023/24 season, but the club’s finances, once again, stood in his way.
Barcelona was struggling to register new signings. Just a year earlier, they had signed the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Jules Koundé, and there was a huge scare regarding whether they would be able to register them or not. Both players were eventually registered, but only at the last minute.
Messi was keeping an eye on this. Barcelona had to cut down around 15% of their spending, which affected their basketball, handball, futsal, and hockey teams. Plus, their long-time fan-favorite channel, Barca TV, had to be shut down.
For Messi, returning under such circumstances would mean more sacrifices for others at the club — maybe even players being sacrificed and sold forcefully.
The finances would not have helped either, as Barcelona had to activate an economic lever to register its players ahead of the season. But it only allowed Barcelona to spend 40 percent of any money they raised through sales and loans.
“I heard Barcelona had to sell players or make pay cuts, and the truth is I didn’t want to go through that or feel responsible for something like this,” he said.
Just a few days after his admission, Messi moved to the MLS to play for Inter Miami, where he continues to play to this day.
