The New Parisian
Lionel Messi has stated that he has left Barcelona to join Paris Saint-Germain because he believes they offer him the best opportunity of winning the Champions League for the fifth time. When it became evident that his time at the Nou Camp was coming to an end, the six-time Ballon d'Or winner acknowledged that his former Barcelona teammate Neymar helped persuade him to join PSG.
Despite the emotional departure from Barcelona FC, the striker claims he is now focused on bringing success to Paris, notably in the Champions League, which has so far eluded them. "I think this team is already done and ready," Messi remarked when asked if PSG, who finished second in 2020, could make the final step.
While Messi will be playing professional football for the first time outside of Spain, there is a chance that PSG and Barcelona will meet in the Champions League. That scenario would result in an emotional reunion between Messi and his former team, as well as the opportunity for him to say goodbye to the Barca fans who missed his final season at the Nou Camp due to coronavirus limitations. Messi stated, "Barcelona is my home; I've lived there since I was a child." "I've experienced a lot there, both good and unpleasant.”
Why did Messi Leave Barcelona?
Barcelona publicly stated that both the club and the player wanted to negotiate a deal — rumours in recent weeks claimed that Messi, who became a free agent on June 30, was willing to take a 50% pay cut to make it happen — but league regulations made it impossible.
"Despite FC Barcelona and Lionel Messi having achieved an agreement and both sides' clear intention to sign a new contract today," Barcelona said, "this cannot happen due to Spanish LaLiga restrictions on player registration."
"Messi will not be staying at FC Barcelona as a result of this issue. Both sides regret that the player's and the club's wishes will not be fulfilled in the end." All teams are subject to a floating salary ceiling, which limits player pay and acquisition expenditures to 70% of club earnings, according to La Liga rules implemented in 2013.
After suffering a significant drop in earnings as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, FC Barcelona approached the summer offseason needing to cut well over $200 million in compensation only to sign Messi. However, due to the lack of transfer activity across Europe, the Blaugrana were nowhere near that sum, and the club and player agreed on Aug. 5 that the deal could not take place under the circumstances.
So it's technically not La Liga's fault, but FC Barcelona's failure to follow La Liga's rules.
Bibliography
Borg, S. (2021, August 12) Why did Lionel Messi leave Barcelona? Explaining what happened between Messi and La Liga club. Sportingnews.com. https://www.sportingnews.com/us/soccer/news/why-did-lionel-messi-leave-barcelona-explain-what-happened/1dwtnwr31kcox1qki0fueupe64
Dogru, A. (2021, August 11) Soccer superstar Messi is being partly paid in crypto by PSG. [Photograph] CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/12/lionel-messi-is-being-partly-paid-in-crypto-at-psg.html
Shread, J. (2021, August 11). Lionel Messi reveals he chose to join Paris Saint-Germain in order to win fifth Champions League. Sky Sports. https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12378621/lionel-messi-reveals-he-chose-to-join-paris-saint-germain-in-order-to-win-fifth-champions-league
Smith, R. (2021, August 5) La partida de Lionel Messi es un desastre anunciado [Photograph] The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/es/2021/08/05/espanol/messi-barcelona.html