La Liga president Javier Tebas has offered his thoughts on Lionel Messi’s shock summer exit from Barcelona and reckons his departure “wasn’t a financial decision.”
Barca stunned the football world on August 6 by announcing the captain wouldn’t be staying “despite having reached an agreement and the clear intention of both parties to sign a new contract today.”
The brief statement from the Catalan giants blamed “Spanish LaLiga regulations on player registration” for Messi’s departure, but Tebas says he knows “with certainty” that it “wasn’t a financial decision.”
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Tebas says Laporta and Barca had initially been in favour of La Liga’s investment deal with private equity firm CVC until a very late change of heart.
“If Laporta had shaken hands with Messi on a deal, it was because for one month he had accepted the CVC offer. He was in favour for more than a month. That’s why he said things were going well. He even phoned me twice to accelerate the operation with CVC because Messi was getting nervous.
“The club was happy with the agreement for many weeks and then in the last 72 hours, it all changed. It was a decision influenced by (Barça CEO) Ferran Reverter and I think it’s linked to the Super League.”
La Liga’s president also said that he felt the GOAT’s exit could have been avoided and that he believes it will become clear next season “if Messi really could have stayed or not.” [Barca]
