Catalan media tycoon Jaume Roures, who supported Joan Laporta’s FC Barcelona presidential campaign, revealed a shocking truth regarding Lionel Messi’s departure in an interview with Cadena SER.
In addition to lending money to Laporta’s campaign for office, Roures, the former CEO of MediaPro, is an investor in Barça Studios.
The media tycoon has now discussed how Messi left Barcelona in 2021, implying that there were factors other than financial ones at play.
Messi’s contract expired in 2021 and he left Barcelona. The football community was taken aback by it, as Laporta and associates had been adamant that he was going to have his contract renewed.
Messi was able to sign a free agent contract with PSG after it was determined at the last minute that extending Messi would not be feasible under La Liga’s Financial Fair Play rules.
Laporta and his administration made the decision not to proceed with the extension.
According to Roures, as reported by Barca Universe, Messi’s contract renewal with Barcelona was discussed during a series of meetings between Laporta and Javier Tebas.
Everything suggested that the Argentine was going to extend his contract for a few more seasons after these meetings at which Roures was also present.
Recalling that everything was set up for Messi to sign the contract, Roures said, “they were discussing whether to wait for Messi to return from holiday in Miami or whether to take someone there to sign the contract.”
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But according to Roures, the agreement collapsed at the last minute for a number of reasons other than just financial.
“Personal and financial factors combined and I wouldn’t put my hand in the fire to say which was more crucial. However, it appears to me that there were other factors besides economic ones,” he remarked.
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When questioned about the “personal reasons” behind Messi’s departure, Roures asserted that Barça saw the Argentine’s camp as applying pressure to strengthen the team and sign new players because they believed the team was not prepared for championships.
“They insisted that Barça sign him, even though some people had trouble reading that.” They interpreted it as unwarranted pressure and a conflict that ultimately favored the departure because of the signings and sporting obligations,” he remarked.
“Messi flew from Ibiza to Barcelona and came back convinced that he was signing,” Roures continued. However, the entire situation turned around, and the Argentine was ultimately forced to leave.
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