Lionel Messi departed unexpectedly from FC Barcelona last summer. Following the league’s wage salary cap prevented the Argentine from staying with the Spanish club.
While Messi and football fans worldwide were shocked to see the 34-year-old departing from the club he’s only known since playing first-team football. However, during an interview at the LSE Sports Business conference, via Barca Universal, Mateu Alemany, Barcelona Football Director, stated that he didn’t see Messi’s departure as a surprise.
“Unfortunately, Messi’s departure was not a surprise. It was the reality of the moment. The only way for him to stay was for Barça to join something that we did not want to join. We decided that the club was above any other person. We’ve lost a lot commercially,” Alemany said.
A few days following Messi leaving Barcelona, the Argentine would sign a two-year deal with an option for a third with Paris Saint-Germain. Messi is now tasked with helping Les Parisiens win the UEFA Champions League since they put all their chips on the table.
They’ll face off against a familiar opponent of Messi’s in Real Madrid, so the capital club hopes that the former Barcelona forward can find his past form to help them advance past Los Blancos despite his struggles adapting to French football this season.
