'Nobody ever asked me to play for free - Messi hits back at Barcelona president
Stefan Bienkowski
- 1 Nov 2021 09:25 GMT
- 5 min read
Lionel Messi has hit back at Joan Laporta by revealing that Barcelona never asked the player to play for free, in order to avoid him leaving in the summer.
The world of football came to a dramatic halt during the previous transfer window, when the Argentina international was all but forced to leave Barca due to the club’s financial struggles in previous years.
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Despite offering to take a significant pay cut, La Liga rules meant that Barca were unable to make Messi an offer to stay. As such, he made a free transfer to Paris Saint-Germain a few days later.
After Messi’s departure, Laporta explained away the reasons for the player’s move but made a suggestion that he had hoped the club legend would have offered to play for free in the 11th hour and avoided the need to leave the club.
’I cut my salary by 50% without any problem’
This, more than anything else, has clearly irked the forward, who now claims that Laporta nor anyone else at Barca even suggested to him that he should play for free, despite Messi making a number of concessions to stay at the club.
“The truth is that, as I explained on my way out, I did everything possible to stay, never at any time was I asked to play for free,” said Messi in an interview with Sport.
“I was asked to cut my salary by fifty percent and I did it without any problem. We were in a position to help the club more.
“The desire and desire of me and my family was to stay in Barcelona. Nobody asked me to play for free but at the same time it seems to me that the words said by the president are out of place.
“They hurt me because I think he doesn't need to say that, it's like getting the ball off you and not assuming its consequences, or taking charge of things.
“This makes people think or generates a type of doubt that I think I do not deserve.”
