FC Barcelona was founded on November 29, 1899. FC Barcelona is one of the four professional soccer clubs in Spain whose legal entity is not that of a sports corporation since its ownership rests with its more than 143,000 members. This means that “the members are the owners” of the club. Given that FC Barcelona is not an anonymous sports entity, those who elect the club president are the members. The biggest problem for the Barcelona managers was not money, it was that Laporta would have just been elected as FC Barcelona’s president, and in the eyes of the fans, there would be nothing worse than losing the greatest idol of the institution and the best player in the world. However, looking at a broad spectrum, it was the best decision for the club. If, just upon assuming the position of president of the club, you let go of the greatest idol of the club, it would mean putting all the fans and partners against you and thus not being re-elected as president the following elections. FC Barcelona, one of the biggest soccer clubs in history, would face a huge challenge with the renewal of the contract of the greatest idol of the institution, the Argentine Lionel Andres Messi. Despite the fact that both parties already had a pre-agreement, after 21 years with Messi in the institution, 2021 would be the year in which the Catalan club would face a challenge that everyone is talking about.
FC Barcelona multiplied the list of winners after Lionel arrived at the club and went from having one to five Champions Leagues (the most important European competition). FC Barcelona also went from having two to five European Super Cups. Messi is the club’s top scorer and in the Spanish league’s history. FC Barcelona did not have Intercontinentals before Leo; now they have three.
Messi broke all kinds of records on an individual level. With 633 goals, he is the top scorer in the history of FC Barcelona, and with 444, he is also the top scorer in the Spanish league. Messi won seven Ballon d’Ors, six Golden Boots. Messi is the only one who finished seven times “pichichi” in the league. Messi is considered the best player in the history of the sport, but also in the history of the club, and that is why the managers of FC Barcelona are trying to retain Messi, but closing the contract this season would not be easy at all.
The career of Messi, now 34 years old, had to end with the retirement of the Argentine with the same jersey that he has defended since he was 13 years old. However, Messi was no longer happy with the team. The departure of Josep Bertomeu and the arrival of Joan Laporta to the presidency of the Catalan club changed Messi’s perspectives. Messi was more satisfied with Laporta’s project and the promise to improve the team. Salary negotiation was the main economic problem for the “cule” team. In the 2021 season, the team was unable to achieve the objectives set. Despite this, Messi and Laporta assured they had a pre-agreement to renew the contract. But the club’s financial problems complicated everything. FC Barcelona is in financial difficulties derived from the drop in income due to the coronavirus pandemic. According to sports press reports, Messi had agreed to reduce his salary to half of what he earned, some US$165 million, and stay at FC Barcelona until 2026. Another big problem for the institution would be the salary cap. The salary cap is a formula used to control the economy of the clubs, preventing them from engaging in an unfair financial competition that could even lead to their bankruptcy. Renewing Messi would mean that FC Barcelona would raise its player payment budget and exceed the spending limit that the salary cap allows. This is determined through the income generated, which during the pandemic was lower. While the 2020-21 season had a cap of almost US$600 million, for the next season, only spending of nearly US$410 million was authorized. So, the signing of Messi’s contract depended on the output of players that would allow financing of the salaries of the Argentine captain.
Since the chances of retaining the player were almost nil, Laporta decided to let Messi go, but with a verbal agreement where with the capital that Messi meant, FC Barcelona generates a very solid team bringing high-ranking players and thus have a competitive team for the return of the greatest idol of the club.
On July 19, 2022, Barcelona made the signing of Robert Lewandowski official with a contract that will be signed until 2026 and a termination clause for more than 500 million dollars. In addition, FC Barcelona went to the charge of Messi’s best friend, Kun Aguero. Agüero arrives at the express request of Joan Laporta, president of the club. The manager understands that he is the striker the team is missing and is also a key factor in recovering Lionel Messi. FC Barcelona has also signed one of the best players from last season in the Premier League in its squad. With the arrival of Raphinha and the hiring of Ousmane Dembélé, the FC Barcelona’s first team incorporates individual talent and overflow on the right wing. Since Laporta’s re-election as president of FC Barcelona in 2021, 1.32% of the capital’s GDP has generated almost 19,200 direct and indirect jobs, attracted 5% of tourists, and 1 million nights of club activity. of lodging per year. Among the tourist activities it promotes are visits to the Barça Museum, the Camp Nou Experience, the sale of merchandising, and tickets to the stadium. The museum billed 53.68 million euros in the 2021-22 season, almost equaling what was sold in tickets, 60 million euros. Even if Messi is not there, it will continue to work because FC Barcelona will always be Messi’s home. In this way, FC Barcelona not only resolved the situation very efficiently but also won the hearts and affections of all the fans. However, the leaving of this legend was a blow to the team. ESPN quoted one of the staff members saying, “It was a big blow for everyone, and this can only be likened to Guardiola when he was leaving the club.” However, the coach said, “Things have improved, and an atmosphere of relaxation has been fostered.” This is usual with Messi’s performance in the team for the past years. Nonetheless, the team would only mess up the performance by lamenting and only thinking of its idol. It had to move on and return to its best form by signing new talents who would take Messi’s efforts to other miles. Lewandowski was one of the few players signed to keep the club shining. Also, more approaches to solving the financial crisis have been developed. For instance, the club has entered into a new deal with Spotify for naming rights, and this has helped Barcelona raise overwhelming funds.
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