"Barca have outstanding payments to Messi til 2025"

Barcelona and Leo Messi aren't finished with each other yet. Despite the Argentinian having left in 2021, and deciding not to return this summer, the Catalan side still owe him money, which was admitted to by club president, Joan Laporta.

"What's owed to Messi is the deferral of the salary that was agreed by the previous board, and that produces outstanding payments that end in 2025. He is paid religiously. It corresponds to the wage bill, but it is interpretable. Now, with the improvement of relations with La Liga, the indemnities of the sections will not impact the 'Financial Fair Play', and this is good news," he said in 'La Vanguardia'.

Laporta does not blame Messi's "no" to the lack of space on the club's wage bill: "We had agreed with La Liga that we would dedicate part of the funds we have to Messi. It was contemplated in the viability plan. We communicated it to Jorge Messi. He told me that Leo had had a very difficult year in Paris and wanted less pressure".

He continued, "With our option, he would have continued under pressure and I understood his decision. Good luck to him and we're starting to prepare his super tribute. As part of the 125th anniversary and when we return to Camp Nou, it would be perfect."

 

July 3, 2023

Outgoing loans

Laporta knows that to alleviate the wage bill, the club needs to offload players who don't fit into Xavi Hernandez's plans. And those are primarily players who had been out on loan last season.

"We reached an agreement with Tottenham over Lenglet. We haven't sorted out Dest. This almost never goes quickly. It depends on the other party. For us, they are all cases that would have been solved by now," he said.

Laporta confessed that there are "offers for Christensen, for Pedri, for Gavi, for Araujo, for Ter Stegen, for Ansu, for Raphinha and for Balde, but we are not a selling club. I would tell Ansu to continue, he has to earn Xavi's trust and when he comes out, make a difference, because he has the talent to do it".

One of the arrivals that will take place is Deco, for whom Laporta has already set a date: "We will announce his arrival in mid-July. He will take over Txiki Begiristain's role".

Explanations for Qatar

Joan Laporta has been reminded of some statements he made about Qatar, which look rather hypocritical after a trip to Qatar this past week: "We are trying to recover the club's economy and there are some markets in which we cannot stop working. I travelled because some colleagues on the board met a businessman from Qatar who was interested in doing things with Barca".

"I still hold the same values, but I am also an open-minded person and it is clear that in these countries there is a movement of openness in terms of equal gender rights. Barca obtains economic resources and for them it is interesting. Sport is a way to confirm these movements of openness," he claimed.