Barcelona’s presidential candidate, Emily Russo, revealed the only reason that would make him choose
the departure of Lionel Messi from the “Camp Nou” walls.
“We will have to sit down with Messi and ask him to reduce his salary,” Russo said in statements to
the Catalan newspaper, Ara.
He added, “We will ask him to make a sacrifice, and if there is no approval on his part, Messi will inevitably leave.”
Russo praised Messi’s performance and his distinctive footballing abilities, saying: “Messi writes the brightest
pages in the club’s history and we have to honor our legends, but this is the reality.”
He concluded his speech by saying: “In my opinion, things should be said as they are without change or distortion,
and we will do our best to ensure Messi remains, but in a manner that does not conflict with the interests of
the club,” according to the Spanish newspaper AS.
It is worth noting that Messi’s attempt to leave Barcelona last season was unsuccessful, as his club forced him to pay
his fictional penalty clause to leave, while he launched a campaign against the previous administration headed by
the resigned Josep Bartomeu, claiming that he exploited the Corona pandemic in order to force him to stay within
the walls of the Catalan club.
The 33-year-old can negotiate with a new team starting from January, and leave with a free contract next summer,
while Manchester City appears to be one of the strongest candidates to join him, in order to re-link with his former
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola.
