How Lionel Messi went from signing a contract with Barcelona to leaving in 3 days: departure details revealed

An exit that shook the foundations of football: Lionel Messi leaves Barcelona was the headline on the club’s website that shocked the world. Messi was set to sign a new contract with the Blaugrana and returned to the city to do so on Thursday, August 5, 2021, only to be told he couldn’t. On Sunday he said a tearful goodbye to the club and the fans.

The start of his departure had been set in motion on Monday. President Joan Laporta had run for office with the promise that he would be the one to keep Messi at the club, and had agreed terms with the Argentine to do so. The money for that deal would come from the infamous CVC deal, which involved La Liga selling 10% of its television rights over the next 50 years to get an immediate injection of €2.1 billion in cash for the clubs that could be used to pay. wages and invest in infrastructure. Sport has revealed how Barcelona’s involvement in that deal fell through and then led to Messi’s departure.

The president of La Liga, Javier Tebas, had explained the terms of the agreement with Laporta in a secret meeting in Lleida, in July, and was willing to do so with the rest of the clubs, when the president of Real Madrid, Florentino Pérez, found out. of the agreement. He immediately questioned CVC boss Javier de Jaime about the terms of the deal, as he had not been previously informed: Pérez does considerable business with CVC, which puts him in a position of power.

Marcus Rashford’s favorite destination in Spain is Barcelona. He believes his skills fit well with the club’s style of play. Barça is informed of his situation, but at the moment they have not taken a step forward to sign him. @sport pic.twitter.com/WGwG62fI95

— Barcacentre (@barcacentre) December 26, 2024

Pérez did not see the benefits of the deal for Real Madrid and informed general manager José Ángel Sánchez, before asking him to find out if Barcelona knew about the deal. He, in turn, called his then counterpart at the Camp Nou, Ferran Reverter, to explain the approximate conditions of the agreement. He was not aware of the agreement, as Laporta had held the meeting without notifying others, hoping to reveal it once the agreement for Messi’s return was signed and sealed.

Immediately afterwards, Reverter called José Elías, guarantor of Laporta’s board, to talk about the agreement. It was Elías’s €40 million bank guarantee that kept 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 could affect his guarantee. The fact that Reverter called Elías before the president was seen as a betrayal by Laporta, and essentially ended his time at the club, with his departure finally made official in February 2022.

Elías became angry when he learned the details of the operation and let Laporta know. This happened within a few hours on Monday, and Elías made it clear that if Laporta signed the agreement with CVC, he would immediately withdraw his €40 million bank guarantee. With no 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 is calm with Nico Williams, who is arousing the interest of several big clubs such as Bayern Munich. They know first-hand that he would prioritize his move to Barça. @sport pic.twitter.com/PiMhZtsq1m

— Barcacentre (@barcacentre) December 25, 2024

Jorge Messi, Messi’s father and agent, was traveling to Barcelona to close the deal and told Laporta directly that money would never be a problem and that Messi would stay at all costs. At that moment, Laporta had made the decision and, after ruling out the agreement with CVC, he felt there was no turning back. Hence, the Messis continue to feel that Laporta sold them, and that his departure was not purely economic.

The Sport article notes that Laporta “had no alternative”, but this is naturally one interpretation of events. Laporta got himself into a situation where the issue had not been resolved three days before Messi signed his contract, and he could have informed Elías or Reverter before others revealed the deal to them. In the end, Laporta found himself in an incredibly difficult situation, with a series of difficult decisions to make, but failed to keep his promise to keep Messi at the club.