3 years ago
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By TALES AZZONI
MADRID (AP) — Lionel Messi’s clip astatine Barcelona appears to beryllium over.
Barcelona announced Thursday that Messi volition not enactment with the club, saying that the Spanish league’s fiscal regulations made it intolerable to motion the Argentina prima to a caller contract.
He is leaving aft 17 palmy seasons successful which helium propelled the Catalan nine to glory, helping it triumph galore home and planetary titles since debuting arsenic a teenager.
Barcelona said successful a connection that a woody for a caller declaration had been reached but fiscal “obstacles” made it intolerable for the subordinate to stay with the club.
“Despite nine and subordinate reaching an statement and their wide volition to motion a caller declaration today, this cannot hap due to the fact that of fiscal and structural obstacles,” the nine said.
It blamed “Spanish league regulations” for not allowing the nine to motion a caller declaration with the player. His erstwhile 1 had ended connected June 30.
“As a effect of this situation, Messi shall not beryllium staying connected astatine FC Barcelona,” it said. “Both parties profoundly regret that the wishes of the subordinate and the nine volition yet not beryllium fulfilled.
“FC Barcelona wholeheartedly expresses its gratitude to the subordinate for his publication to the aggrandizement of the nine and wishes him each the precise champion for the aboriginal successful his idiosyncratic and nonrecreational life,” the connection said.
Messi had asked to permission Barcelona for escaped astatine the extremity of past play but had his petition denied by then-president Josep Bartomeu. Joan Laporta took implicit the presidency and appeared to person convinced Messi to stay. But Laporta had said precocious that the nine was struggling to acceptable the player’s wage — adjacent with hefty reductions accepted by the subordinate — into the league-controlled wage cap.
In Messi’s erstwhile contract, signed successful 2017, helium reportedly earned 138 cardinal euros ($163 million) per season.
The league had announcement connected Wednesday that it secured $3.2 cardinal successful backstage equity backing to assistance the clubs, which appeared to pave the mode for Barcelona to re-sign the Argentina star. But the woody with Messi fell done aft nine officials met with the player’s representatives successful Barcelona connected Thursday. Some section reports said it was Messi who had changed his caput astir staying, portion others said it was the nine that got upset with caller demands made by the player’s staff.
Barcelona was 1 of the clubs hardest deed by the coronavirus pandemic. The league slashed its wage headdress past play and the nine had been trying to wide headdress abstraction by releasing immoderate of its players. It had lone signed escaped agents this summertime — including Memphis Depay, Sergio Aguero and Eric Garcia — to debar paying transportation fees.
The league has worked hard implicit the years to make stableness done strict economical power that kept clubs from going into dense debt. President Javier Tebas had said earlier that the league would not instrumentality a immense deed by losing a subordinate similar Messi, noting that it continued to thrive aft Cristiano Ronaldo near Real Madrid to Juventus a fewer years ago.
It was unclear whether Messi was already successful talks with different clubs, but helium has antecedently been linked with cash-rich Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.
The Argentine made nary contiguous nationalist statement. Club president Laporta was going to code the media connected Friday.
Barcelona removed Messi from its squad database connected the club’s website soon aft the announcement, and posted a video connected its Twitter accounts thanking the player.
Messi volition beryllium leaving aft having won 35 titles. He helped the nine triumph the Champions League 4 times, the Spanish league 10 times, the Copa del Rey 7 times and the Spanish Super Cup 8 times.
While with the club, Messi earned himself a grounds six Ballon d’Or awards arsenic the world’s apical player. He is the team’s all-time scorer with 672 goals successful 778 appearances, and the apical scorer successful the Spanish league with 474 goals successful 520 matches. He besides is the subordinate with astir matches with the club.
He was the apical scorer successful the Spanish league successful 8 seasons, and the apical scorer successful the Champions League connected six occasions. His 26 goals against Real Madrid are a grounds for the “clásico” matches against Barcelona’s fiercest rival.
Messi arrived astatine Barcelona astatine property 13, erstwhile helium and his household came to Spain to effort his luck astatine Barcelona’s younker academy. He made his authoritative debut connected Oct. 16, 2004, and 2 years aboriginal helped the nine triumph its archetypal Champions League successful a squad led by Ronaldinho.
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Associated Press writer Joseph Wilson contributed from Barcelona.
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Tales Azzoni connected Twitter: http://twitter.com/tazzoni
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