SUMMARY
- The reason Messi left Barcelona was due to their financial crises.
- Even though Messi agreed for salary that was half of what he was making, Barcelona couldn't afford to keep him.
It has been almost three years since Lionel Messi has left FC Barcelona. Joining the club when he was just 13, Messi has spent over two decades at the club. In the end, it was the club’s ongoing financial crisis that forced him to leave the club. However, little do the fans know that the Argentine himself had thought about leaving the club twice.
In 2021, FC Barcelona issued a shocking statement announcing that Lionel Messi wouldn’t be continuing at the club. Messi, whose contract had expired in June 2021, was reported to have agreed to sign a new contract. Messi’s former Argentina teammate Sergio Aguero even revealed that Messi had kept an FC Barcelona jersey with him at the national team camp during the Copa America 2021.
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However, in August 2021, FC Barcelona stated that Messi would be leaving the club. The club explained that their poor economic condition wouldn’t allow them to register Messi. Despite Messi reducing his salary by more than 50%, his story at his boyhood club came to a sudden end. He shortly joined the French club PSG just a few days after tearing up at his farewell press conference at FC Barcelona.
🚨 Leo Messi: “I heard that they had to sell players or lower the salary of players and the truth is that I didn’t want to go through that. I was already accused of many things that were not true in my career at Barcelona and I was already a little tired, I didn’t want to go… pic.twitter.com/6993PmS7Mm
— All About Argentina 🛎🇦🇷 (@AlbicelesteTalk) June 7, 2023
Although the possibility of Messi’s return to the Catalan club did arise earlier last year. After Messi left PSG in 2023, his father, Jorge Messi, who is also his agent, was spotted meeting with FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta. However, Messi later signed with Inter Miami and explained that it was again the club’s financial crisis that prevented his return.
Lionel Messi wanted to leave the club in 2013 after a conflict with Spanish authorities
The first instance when Lionel Messi wanted to leave the club was more than a decade ago. Back in 2013, Messi got caught in controversy after being accused of tax evasion. Messi and his father had reportedly defrauded the Spanish government of around $4.5 million between 2007 to 2009. The father-son duo were also handed prison sentences but were later let free after paying a penalty of $1.9 million.
During the controversy, Messi admitted that he felt so mistreated by the Spanish authorities that he contemplated leaving FC Barcelona. The Argentine skipper said, “It was difficult for me and for my family. I felt that I was being very mistreated and I didn’t want to stay here.” However, Messi also admitted that it was more of him wanting to leave Spain than the club.
Lionel Messi’s wish to stay in FC Barcelona evaporated after Bayern Munich drubbing
The second time when Lionel Messi expressed his desire to leave FC Barcelona was in 2020. It had been a tough year for the club when they failed to successfully defend their La Liga title. In the Champions League, FC Barcelona was humiliated 8-2 at the hands of Bayern Munich, which has been one of the most shocking defeats in the club’s history.
Just before the end of the season, Lionel Messi sent a burofax to the club stating his wish to leave. There was a clause in Messi’s contract that stipulated him to terminate his contract before the end of June without cause. However, due to COVID-19, the season was delayed from June to August. However, the club refused to give in to Messi’s wish, citing that Messi had missed the deadline, which was in June.
The famous ‘burofax’ of Leo Messi asking to leave FC Barcelona in the summer 2020: exclusive by @mundodeportivo. pic.twitter.com/qIiY6qCDnP
— Francesco Porzio (@fraporzio95) September 5, 2021
Despite the controversy, Lionel Messi refused to stick to his initial stance and ended up staying in the club. He later admitted in the interview that he did indeed want to leave the club. However, since he didn’t want to take his boyhood club took court, he decided to stay.