this is how the main people involved have acted

2023-06-08 13:45:12

BarcelonaAn important sector of Barcelona fans, made up mostly of young people who have grown up with the goals and the enormous rise of Leo Messi on the pitch, is crying today that the striker from Rosario has finally not returned to Barça. It was a genuine and nostalgically Catalan desire that every Sunday resulted in shouts of “Messi, Messi” in the 10th minute of matches held at the Camp Nou. From the presidential box, certain speakers and the dressing room this longing was also fed. The managers sought to repair the traumatic farewell of 2021 and at the same time wipe the damaged balance sheet with the most media signing possible, while Xavi Hernández dreamed of directing from the bench the last dance of his most talented ex-partner. But the economic reality of the institution is still so raw that everything depended on a series that the main protagonist has decided to deactivate to avoid upset.

Leo Messi wanted to return to Barça

The first piece in this who’s who of a failed comeback is the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner. As he acknowledges in the joint interview a Sports world i Sport, he was excited to return to Barça and remove the thorn stuck in him since August 2021, when he had to pack his bags to go to Paris against his will. His wish – and that of his closest family – was not posturing. This is demonstrated by the survey messages that the footballer sent to Xavi even before the World Cup in Qatar, after which he even committed to follow PSG, a project financed by the aforementioned Arab emirate. But a new failure in the Champions League blew all the harmony, which reactivated the possibility of returning to Barcelona. At this point, communications with Xavi went further. “I was telling him if he really wanted him to come back,” says the footballer. Yes, it was true. And, according to the information they received from the offices, it was also possible. The story, however, will continue in Miami.

Xavi Hernández and the feasibility plan

The Barça coach has been one of those who have rowed most in favor of Messi’s return. He was convinced of the Argentinian’s football fit in a squad under construction and had news that the League, once it accepted the treasury plan for the next two years, would give the green light to the operation. An optimist of sorts, the man from Valais, who is not obliged to know the economic control regulations by word of mouth, was confident that the numbers would come out so that the club could make a firm proposal to his ex-teammate, which was not incompatible with saying publicly, a Once Busquets’ farewell was confirmed, the priority signing of the summer was not Messi, but a top-level pivot like Zubimendi or Kimmich. Be that as it may, and in parallel with the negotiation of his new contract, which is not closed, Xavi will wish that Ilkay Gündogan does have the patience that Messi has preferred not to have. He needs talent in the midfield of his team.

Mateu Alemany only had to wait

“When the issue of Messi is resolved, we will give all the necessary explanations.” These are the words of the Mallorcan executive before Celta-Barça, which closed the official season last Sunday. Prophetic statements from the person who, both now and two years ago, saw a new agreement with the Argentinian as less feasible in a context of economic crisis and without possible levers to finance signings. Alemany knew that the viability plan was one thing and the fight to win fair play, another; and that in order to aspire to Messi in this context, the only real possibility that existed was to sell footballers and lower the wage bill, two recipes that need time when the market has not even opened the window. Therefore, seeing that there was no possible transfer in sight, he just had to wait. Internally, the director of football, who is now going to work hard to do all the duties he has in his portfolio, has always left the Messi issue in the hands of Laporta.

Joan Laporta wanted to repair history

“You can’t imagine how naive he is, the president,” says a person very closely connected with Laporta on a day-to-day basis, who has fueled Messi’s return for weeks despite knowing full well the difficulty involved in registering his contract, however modest it was. Its sports vice-president, Rafa Yuste, has also rowed in this direction. Both were very touched by the sad outcome of August 2021 and wanted to transmit from the inside, through the channels closest to the board, and with the help of theachiever Alejandro Echevarría, that returning the Argentinian to Blaugrana was possible if the famous feasibility plan was accepted. But the plans need room to begin to be implemented and, along these lines, Laporta asked Jorge Messi for patience on Monday to speed up the exit operation, a vital part of the economic projection of a Barça in operational losses. Aware of the difficulty, and also of the precedent of 2021, the footballer’s father ruled out giving more time and, in collusion with his son, activated the Miami route above the millions of Saudi Arabia.

Javier Tebas, firm with the regulations

If Messi has not returned to Barça, it is because he did not want to expose himself to the whims of the transfer market so that the club could obtain a salary margin to sign his contract. And if this has happened, it is because the entity has problems complying with the economic control regulations of the League, which right now, and despite the famous approved viability plan, forces it to register new players under the 40% rule, as it exceeds the established salary limit. The president of the employer, Javier Tebas, had maintained a friendly tone when asked about getting Messi back for the Spanish competition, but that has not exempted him from urging Laporta to comply with the current law.