Barcelona President Laporta Provides New Information on Messi’s Departure from the Catalan Giants

Lionel Messi’s free transfer to Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona was arguably the top headline move from the recent summer transfer window. Although all signs pointed to Messi re-signing with Barca, this was not possible due to the club’s financial complications.

Antoine Griezmann recently left Barca for Atletico Madrid on a loan deal with a mandatory buy option. This has brought many to speculate that if Griezmann had left Barca earlier in the transfer window, then the club could have kept Messi.

However, Barca president Joan Laporta is debunking this notion, which he recently spoke further about to the Spanish-based channel Esport3 (via AS).

“Messi could not have stayed even with Griezmann’s [departure] and with the salary reduction of the captains,” Laporta said. “But it is important that we have lowered the salary cap because next year we can be more ambitious.”

The Messi era with Barca is all now over with, as the Argentine is now aiming to win another UEFA Champions League during his ongoing run with Paris Saint-Germain.