Why Messi left Barcelona
3 Shocking facts that explain why Messi left Barcelona after 21 years
 |
| why messi left barcelona |
Lionel Messi broke down at his final press conference as a Barcelona player. Since making his senior debut in 2003, Messi has played 778 games for the Catalan club, scoring 672 goals. He claimed he wanted to stay at the club and had even accepted a 50 per cent salary cut to sign a new contract. But as it turned out, Barcelona couldn’t even afford a cut-price Messi.
On August 5, Barcelona confirmed through a statement that Messi “will not continue” with the club. A day later, Laporta said: “Leo wanted to stay and the Club wanted him to stay, but with the LaLiga rules it has not been possible.”
The club wanted to extend the 34-year-old’s contract by two years, but LaLiga’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules prevented it. As per the rules, Barcelona’s wage-to-turnover percentage has to be 70 per cent.
FULL DETAIL OF DEPARTURE IS IN THE VIDEO BELOW: