Messi’s departure from Barcelona was a clear sign that something is going on ‘Camp Nou’ and we finally found out what that is.
The team president Joan Laporta revealed that the club is €1.35 billion ($1.6 billion) in debt, describing the situation as “very worrying”.
The club’s wage bill currently accounts for 103% of total income.
Just as it goes in the politics, Laporta blames his predecessor Bartomeu for the debt, accusing him of leaving a “terrible inheritance”.
Taking this into account, La Liga simply could not accept new Messi’s contract because it would have made the wage bill accountable for 110% of revenue.
Therefore, Messi’s departure was inevitable and the Argentinian left Barcelona after 21 years with the club signing a two-year deal with PSG.
“Our salaries represent 103% of the club’s total income, that’s 20-25% more than our competitors,” said Laporta.
“The first thing we had to do when we arrived was to ask for a loan of 80m euros because, otherwise, we could not pay the salaries. The previous regime was full of lies.
“Barcelona has a negative net worth of 451m euros – it is a terrible inheritance. What has been happening is very worrying.”
Bartomeu defended himself stating that if he wasn’t forced to step out he would have found a way to keep Messi.
“As is known, our board of directors planned to call elections on 21 March, within the statutory period at the end of our mandate, which would have allowed us to take on and carry out the settlement of the 2020-21 season accounts,” Bartomeu said.
“We would then have taken the decisions necessary to avoid arriving at the current financial situation.”
“We would have been the only ones responsible for the closure and its consequences, a decision that the new board has not taken throughout these past months, making clear their inaction,” says Bartomeu.
