Barcelona boss: We agreed with Messi on everything, but then he changed his mind. He explained why Real took Güler away from them

Lionel Messi’s return home to Barcelona was a big topic at the start of the transfer window. But it ended rather quickly when the Argentine footballer decided to leave for the MLS. Barcelona president Joan Laporta claims that they had already agreed on a contract.

Lionel Messi has spent his entire adult career at Barcelona. Until the club ran into huge financial difficulties and could not afford to sign their legend due to huge debts.

So in the summer of 2021, he left for PSG, whom he was supposed to help to the Champions League of his dreams. But it ended in a fiasco, with the Parisians knocked out twice in a row in the eighth round and Messi being enemy number one of the fans due to his poor performances. Towards the end, they even booed him constantly and insulted him a lot.

So it was clear that the Argentine was not going to stay at the Park of Princes. The question was where his next steps would lead. There was much speculation about a return to Barcelona, which seemed the most likely.

But then Messi made a different decision and chose to leave for Inter Miami, who play in the American MLS. After his departure overseas, Barcelona president Joan Laporta was a bit scathing and now claims that he and Messi had already agreed on a contract.

“We came to an agreement and everything was agreed, but everything has a time frame. The contract was agreed, but when LaLiga gave us permission, Messi’s father told me that Leo had had two difficult years in Paris, that he had suffered a lot and now he wanted to play in a league where there was less pressure. I told him it was perfectly understandable,” Laporta explained at the press conference.

Another big topic in Spanish football was Turkish super-talent Arda Güler. Barcelona and Real Madrid were in a tug-of-war for the 18-year-old “new Özil”, and just when it looked like he was heading to Catalonia, Los Blancos stepped in and got the talent for themselves.

“We had to use common sense and we came to the conclusion that we had to pull out of this operation, given the large sums involved. We had an agreement with the club for 17.5 million euros. We also had an agreement with the player. Madrid came in and decided that they had to pay the sums they had paid. We decided not to go for it,” Laporta said.

Barcelona had indeed agreed with Fenerbahce on 17.5 million euros, as the exit clause read. Real Madrid, however, offered €20 million and acquired Güler in white colours. Real were also helped by the fact that Barcelona are still not in ideal financial shape and thus cannot afford to go into a transfer race.

Source: MARCA