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Lionel Messi transfer truth revealed by ex-Barcelona president
Martin Macdonald
- 24 Mar 2026 14:08 GMT
- 5 min read
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Barcelona are one of the biggest clubs on planet earth, yet it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Lionel Messi became as big as, if not bigger than, the institution due to his exploits on the football field.
The Argentine is considered by many to be the greatest footballer in the history of the sport and enjoyed the most special part of his career with the Blaugrana.
During his time with Barca, Messi won eight Ballon d'Or trophies - more than any other player - four Champions League titles, 10 La Liga titles and seven Copa del Rey trophies, among plenty of other accolades.
He is the top scorer in the club's history and the top scorer in the history of Argentina.
However, Messi did leave Barca under a cloud in 2021 as the club could no longer afford to register his wages due to La Liga's salary cap. He would be upset by president Joan Laporta's claims that he could have played for the club for free.
In 2020, Messi sent the famous 'burofax' to then-president Josep Maria Bartomeu, requested to leave Camp Nou. He had a fractured relationship with the Barca hierachy at that time and the club was coming off a rare trophyless season.
Even though there is no love lost between Messi and Bartomeu, the latter has played down Messi's behind-the-scenes influence at the club as there have been constant rumours that the Argentine had a major say in transfers and even who the club appointed as head coach.
"Everyone talks about Leo’s power when he was at Barca, but Messi didn’t decide on signings or coaches; he had no privileges. Outside of the sporting side, he never made any decisions," Bartomeu told Catalunya Radio.
"In August 2020, when Messi asked to leave, I told him no because he’s our most important asset and one of our main sources of income. I couldn’t give him a free transfer, and besides, he had a contract. I think he understood, and that’s why he stayed. He thought there would be a new board in a few months that would renew his contract. His surprise came when the time came to renew and they fired him."
Ever since Messi left for Paris Saint-Germain in 2021 there has been speculation that he could one day return. He has also confirmed a plan to return to live in Barcelona, but that will be after his Inter Miami contract expires in 2028.
There is also a reported desire from the player to play professionally for first club, Newell's Old Boys, even for a short period, before he finally retires.
A 'poisoned inheritance'
Barcelona are in a dire financial state and have been for years, with previous exorbitant spending on transfers and wages leaving the club impacted in the current market. Messi was forced to leave because of the financial situation, while current head coach Hansi Flick does not have the resources to spend big like other clubs.
Current president Laporta, who has just been re-elected, cited a "poisoned inheritance" from the previous regime as the reason for the continued economic struggles.
But, Bartomeu doesn't fully agree with that statement.
"It wasn’t a bad inheritance," he insisted.
"It’s an inheritance with some good points and some not so good, but it’s entirely conditioned by Covid. At that time, Barca was a club in a good sporting and financial position, growing and generating revenue. Covid caused revenue to plummet, and in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, Barca suffered a loss of €500 million, which had a significant impact on the club’s finances.
"I’m concerned about the issue of financial fair play; in 2021, Barca inflated its losses. I don’t know why. Inflating the losses and not acknowledging that the pandemic had a €500 million impact on Barca led to us losing our fair play status. This is despite La Liga issuing a report warning of this impact. We could have maintained it. These measures ultimately represent a loss of assets, and these haven’t been used to reduce the debt."
In late 2025, BeIN Sports reported that Barcelona had debts of at least 1.45 billion.
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