The end of a great era! Lionel Messi was about to sign, finally says goodbye to Barcelona for good

It took a total of 21 years to bring together one of the best and most famous players in football history, Lionel Messi, and Barcelona. Now it is clear that the Argentine will not continue in the jersey of the Catalan club. Although he has agreed on a new contract, the club will not be able to afford it due to the strict LaLiga rules.

It is virtually impossible to put into words what Lionel Messi has achieved in the past two decades in the Barcelona jersey, to which he transferred as a talented footballer of only 13 years of age. So let’s just let the numbers do the talking this time.

778 games, 672 goals, 305 assists, 10 LaLiga titles, 4 Champions League trophies, 7 Spanish Cups, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 3 Club World Cup titles, 6 Ballon d’Or, 22 top scorer awards in all sorts of competitions, 9 LaLiga top player awards and that’s it.

Nothing more will be added to these values. Messi will entertain fans of another club with his football later in his career. He will not sign a new contract with Barcelona. His current contract expires on 30 June and he is now a free agent.

The news that Messi’s association with the Spanish big club is coming to an end was issued shortly before 8pm on Thursday by Barcelona itself, which said in a statement: “Although FC Barcelona has reached an agreement with Lionel Messi and both parties clearly wanted to sign a new contract today, this cannot happen due to financial obstructions.”

The club also added that it deeply regrets the outcome of the negotiations, while thanking Messi for his services and wishing him good luck for the future.

In recent weeks, everything was pointing towards the Argentine international staying at the Catalan club after all, despite the fact that it was clear that despite the tough financial rules of LaLiga, it would not be easy.

Barcelona are known to be drowning in debt and according to The Athletic, they would have to save up to 200 million euros to sign Messi. But that seems impossible in the current situation.

One of the biggest icons of the sport must now look for a new contract for the first time in his professional career. And the range of possible destinations is very small indeed, given the huge financial and other demands of the 34-year-old Argentine.

English journalist Kevin Palmer even talks about only three or four clubs that can afford Messi’s services. These include Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, Manchester City and possibly Manchester United.

Sources