Why did Messi leave Barca- A football love story with a bitter ending
This year, one of the greatest football relationships was shattered when Messi was forced to leave his childhood club Barcelona. We at Alley Sport will give you in depth story on Why did Messi leave Barca?
A football love story- Messi and Barcelona
At the age of 11, Messi was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency.
River Plate was interested in Messi’s growth, but they lacked the funds to pay for his disease treatment, which cost over £500 per month. Carles Rexach, then the sporting director of FC Barcelona, was made aware of Messi’s talent as Argentina’s economy collapsed, and Barcelona recruited him after watching him play, offering to pay for his medical fees if he was prepared to relocate to Spain and start a new life. His family relocated to Europe with the young player, who excelled in the club’s youth teams.
In October 2004, Messi made his official début for the first team against RCD Espanyol, becoming the third-youngest player ever to play for FC Barcelona. When he scored his first senior goal for the club against Albacete Balompié on May 1, 2005, Messi was 17 years, 10 months and 7 days old, becoming the youngest to ever score in a La Liga game for FC Barcelona.
And the rest as they say is History.
The road to becoming the GOAT
Within three years, he had established himself as a key player for the club, and in his first continuous season in 2008–09, he helped Barcelona win the first treble in Spanish football; same year, Messi won his first Ballon d’Or at the age of 22. Following three great seasons, Messi won four Ballons d’Or in a row, making him the first player to win the trophy four times in a row. He established himself as Barcelona’s all-time best scorer during the 2011–12 season, setting La Liga and European records for most goals scored in a single season. Messi finished second in the Ballon d’Or voting the following two seasons behind Cristiano Ronaldo (his perceived career rival), before resuming his best form in the 2014–15 season, becoming the all-time top scorer in La Liga and leading Barcelona to a historic second treble, for which he was awarded his fifth Ballon d’Or. Messi assumed captaincy of Barcelona in 2018, and in 2019 he won a record sixth Ballon d’Or.
Why did Messi leave Barca?
Barcelona’s statement stated unequivocally that both the club and the player wanted to negotiate a deal — rumours in recent weeks claimed that Messi, who became a free agent on June 30, was willing to take a 50% pay cut to make it happen — but league regulations made it impossible.
“Despite FC Barcelona and Lionel Messi having reached an agreement and the clear intention of both parties to sign a new contract today, this cannot happen because of Spanish LaLiga regulations on player registration,” Barcelona’s statement read.
“As a result of this situation, Messi shall not be staying on at FC Barcelona. Both parties deeply regret that the wishes of the player and the club will ultimately not be fulfilled.”
All teams are subject to a floating salary ceiling, which limits player pay and acquisition expenditures to 70% of club earnings, according to La Liga rules implemented in 2013.
After suffering a significant drop in earnings as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, FC Barcelona approached the summer offseason needing to cut well over $200 million in compensation only to sign Messi. However, due to the lack of transfer activity across Europe, the Blaugrana were nowhere near that sum, and the club and player agreed on Aug. 5 that the deal could not take place under the circumstances.
So it’s technically not La Liga’s fault, but FC Barcelona’s failure to follow La Liga’s rules, due to which Messi was forced to leave FC Barcelona.
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