“It is harrowing to see a very talented player going to leave Barcelona for free when the club is going through so many financial problems.”
Barcelona board made a mistake not selling Messi
According to reports in the summer, Lionel Messi was leaving Barcelona for Manchester City. After all, Barcelona would not have let the Argentine leave before his contract expires. But club legend Rivaldo believes that was a mistake. After participating in the 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League, Messi announced his will to leave the Blaugrana, citing a clause in his contract that allowed him to do so. Some clever legal posturing from Josep Maria Bartomeu followed. It ensured Messi that he would not comply with a clause he felt was valid without the club taking legal action, something he would not do. “The previous board made the mistake of not selling Messi while he was still under contract,” Rivaldo told reporters.
The club is facing €1.173 billion debt
“They could have done something similar to what Real Madrid did to Cristiano Ronaldo when they sold him and earned about €100 million. It is harrowing to see a very talented player going to leave Barcelona for free when the club is going through so many financial problems. Messi’s departure is inevitable for me. With Barcelona’s €1.173 billion debt, the club is in dire financial situation, with some even citing bankruptcy as a likely outcome. Although Rivaldo believes there are sellable assets in the squad”. With the departure of Philippe Coutinho, Barcelona could use Ousmane Dembele and Antoine Griezmann to help secure the future,” he added. “Also, Coutinho has a good reputation in England, while things are not going well in Spain.”
“I love seeing Riqui Puig given more attention. The boy shows his worth and has a great personality. He reminds me of the young Xavi who showed up when I was part of the squad.”