Barcelona’s new documentary is out which covers their ‘new era’ post the shocking departure of club legend Lionel Messi last year during the summer window. More astonishingly, a player of his stature left for free, after his contract with the Catalan club expired. Despite all their efforts, Barcelona were unable to renew Messi due to their financial situation which was in absolute shambles.
Lionel Messi, born and bred in Barcelona leaves the club as a meltdown occurs at Camp Nou. However, the Catalans’ then manager Ronaldo Koeman who had a rather controversial spell at the club wanted the Argentine to continue at the club and had talked about it with club president at that time, Josep Maria Bartomeu. The new documentary has revealed the conversation two men had prior to Messi’s unpleasant, unplanned exit.
I want the best player in the world to stay – Koeman to Bartomeu on Lionel Messi’s renewal
It was disastrous for Barcelona to lose their greatest player Lionel Messi, but it was more tough for the player himself who was in tears during his farewell event at the Camp Nou premises. However, the Barca captain was actually all set to continue at the club after his close aide Joan Laporta was reelected as the club president following Bartomeu’s resignation.
But the club’s financial books, which were getting worst as each day passed never allowed them to dish out an extension to their all-time top scorer despite him taking a significant pay-cut as well. Meanwhile, the documentary reveals the efforts Koeman and Bartomeu made in order to convince Messi to stay at the club in 2020, when he actually had handed in a transfer request. The two are seen in a conversation where Koeman tells Bartomeu:
“I have already told you who won’t continue, and they need to hear it from the club. The only exception is [Lionel] Messi. I have told Ramon that we’ll speak to him tomorrow. We want him to stay. We both have to tell Leo Messi to continue. I want the best player in the world to stay.
“There will be changes. We are going to give the youngsters a chance. Everyone knows that Messi doesn’t want to stay. If he is leaving we must come and be upfront with the press, it will be a problem for the club, but we must respect Messi’s decision. Whatever it may be.”
As evident, Barcelona’s situation was already in the mud as Messi wanted to leave a year before his contract expired in the summer of 2021. The Argentina captain had even sent a ‘burofax’ to the Barcelona board in 2020 conveying to them that he wanted to leave the club before his contract expires. However, the Catalans somehow managed to keep the player until his deal ran out the following summer, and he left after their failure to extend him, when he actually wanted to stay.
After 17 trophy-laden seasons, a staggering 672 goals and 303 assists and a number of individual honors won at the club, Lionel Messi bid adieu to Barcelona in the summer of 2021, as he joined French giants Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer. The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, who recently was crowned as the world champion with Argentina is now set to extend his stay at the Parisian club by another year as he seems to be enjoying his time with close friend Neymar and the electric forward Kylian Mbappe.