How Lionel Messi went from signing a contract with Barcelona to leaving in 3 days – details of exit revealed

An exit that shook the foundations of football – Lionel Messi to leave Barcelona was the headline on the club website that shocked the world. Messi was set to sign a new deal with the Blaugrana, and arrived back in the city to do so on Thursday the 5th of August 2021, only to be told that he could not. On Sunday, he gave a tearful farewell to the club and fans.

The beginning of his exit had been set in motion on the Monday. President Joan Laporta had run for election on the promise that he would be the one to keep Messi at the club, and had agreed terms with the Argentinian to do so. The money for that deal was set to come from the infamous CVC agreement, which involved La Liga selling 10% of their TV rights for the next 50 years in order for an immediate €2.1b injection of cash for clubs that could be used to pay wages and invest in infrastructure. Sport have revealed how Barcelona’s participation in that deal collapsed, and then led to Messi’s exit.

La Liga President Javier Tebas had explained the terms of the deal with Laporta in a secret meeting in Lleida, in July, and was all set to do so with the rest of the clubs, when Real Madrid President Florentino Perez got wind of the agreement, he immediately quizzed CVC chief Javier de Jaime on the terms of the deal, having not been previously informed – Perez does considerable business with CVC, putting him in a position of power.

Marcus Rashford's favourite destination in Spain is Barcelona. He thinks his skillset fits well with the club's style of play. Barça are informed about his situation, but have so far not taken a step forward to sign him. @sport pic.twitter.com/WGwG62fI95

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) December 26, 2024

Perez did not see the benefits of the deal for Real Madrid, and informed General Director Jose Angel Sanchez, before asking him to find out if Barcelona knew about the deal. He in turn called his then counterpart at Camp Nou Ferran Reverter, explaining the rough terms of the deal. He was unaware of the deal, as Laporta had carried out the meeting without telling others, hoping to reveal it once the deal for Messi to return was signed and sealed.

Reverter then called Jose Elias, who was the guarantor for Laporta’s board to speak about the deal. It was Elias’ €40m bank guarantee that had Laporta and his board in power, and one of the terms of that backing was that he should be informed at all times of any deal that may impact his guarantee. The fact Reverter called Elias before the President was seen as a betrayal by Laporta, and essentially ended his time at the club, with his exit finally made official in February of 2022.

Elias was angry upon finding out the details of the deal, and made that known to Laporta. This occurred in the space of a few hours on the Monday, and Elias made it clear that if Laporta penned the CVC deal, he would withdraw his €40m bank guarantee immediately. Without an alternative to finance the contract, Laporta felt his hands were tied, and saw this as the end of Messi’s time at the club.

Barcelona are calm when it comes to Nico Williams, who's sparking interest from various big clubs like Bayern Munich. They know firsthand that he would prioritize a move to Barça. @sport pic.twitter.com/PiMhZtsq1m

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) December 25, 2024

Jorge Messi, father and agent of Messi, was traveling to Barcelona to wrap up the deal, and told Laporta directly that money would never be an issue, and Messi would stay at all costs. By this point, Laporta had made the call though, and after ruling out the CVC deal, felt there was no way back. Hence the Messis continue to feel that Laporta sold them out, and that his exit was not purely financial.

The piece from Sport notes that Laporta had ‘no other alternative’, but naturally this is one side and interpretation of events. Laporta got himself into the situation where the issue had not been resolved three days before Messi was due to sign his contract, and could have informed Elias or Reverter prior to the deal being revealed to them by others. Ultimately, Laporta was in an incredibly difficult situation, with a series of tough decisions to take, but did not keep his promise of keeping Messi at the club.

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