Lionel Messi's exit from Barcelona came in as quite a rude shock for his fans and many players as well. However, for a long time now his contract was something that was spoken about and there was a piece of news that La Liga would not bend its rules to accommodate Messi who was a free agent since the month of June 2021. But no one actually thought that he would have to quit Barcelona. But last night the Catalans posted a long message alongside Messi's picture and explained that he had to quit Barcelona. Now, today a while ago, Laporta addressed the press about the same and explained the reasons for Messi's exit. It's Official: Lionel Messi to Leave FC Barcelona, Will Not Sign New Contract.

He also shed light on the possibility of Messi joining Barcelona once again. Laporta also revealed that Messi wanted to stay and even the club wanted him to stay. While speaking about how it came to Messi leaving the club, he said that the audits showed that the losses are a lot more elevated than expected.  According to Laporta the showed that Barcelona wasbeen spending much more than expected and this is why they could fit in the first contract with Messi. "The first agreement was that we would pay two years of salary over five years and Leo was okay with that. But after LaLiga technically analysed it they deemed that this would not fit their criteria," he told the press reporters.

Laporta's Video:

While speaking about the financial situation of the club, Laporta further explained that everything boiled down to the salary cap issued by La Liga. he further explained that they will have to abide by the salary cap with/without Messi. "We’ve been negotiating for the last few months. He is the best player in the world and he has other offers of course. There comes a moment where we have to say enough, analyse it rigorously with a cold head and look at the numbers," he explained. Laporta also said that the club wanted to pay homage to him by calling the fans in the stands, but that too wasn't possible due to COVID-19 restrictions.

CAN MESSI JOIN BARCELONA IN FUTURE? 

Laporta said that he does not wish to give any of us false hope but there was time given to Messi and them to evaluate their situations. "We had an agreement with Leo but we couldn’t formalise it. He was always present in negotiations and tried to make it easy for us," he revealed. So basically it's curtains down on Messi's stint at Barcelona after 21 years donning the jersey.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 06, 2021 04:25 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).