Barcelona CEO Mateu Alemany has revealed that Barcelona had the chance to keep Lionel Messi last summer. But, they decided to let him go since they would’ve had to be a part of a deal that they didn’t want to engage in.
Since joining Paris Saint-Germain, Messi has had to go through an adaptation phase, but has shown his unparalleled brilliance on multiple occasions.
Alemany reveals Barcelona could’ve kept Lionel Messi
‘Unfortunately, Messi’s departure was not a surprise,’ he told Marca.
‘It was the reality of the moment. The only way for him to stay was for Barça to join something that we did not want to join.
Mateu Alemany: “With Messi’s departure, it is clear that we lost a lot of commercial interest because he was an extremely important asset within the club. Also in the sporting aspect, considering the player he is."
— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) February 11, 2022
‘We decided that the club was above any other person. We’ve lost a lot commercially.’
Alemany could be referring to the CVC deal that all of La Liga were linked with. This would’ve allowed them to receive a short-term financial boost in exchange for giving away a percentage of their TV rights for the next few decades.
Ultimately, no clubs decided to go through with the deal, and Barcelona were forced to let their greatest-ever player leave the club. And as a result, there has been more of a team effort from the Blaugrana instead of relying on Messi for their attacking output.
Under Xavi, we are seeing the rebuilding of Barcelona with young players from the academy making their way into the first team. The likes of Abde, Pedri, Gavi, Araujo and Ansu Fati are set to be the future of the club, collectively.
