Tebas Threats And Inaction Are Making Barcelona Worried About Lionel Messi Contract Renewal
Time is running out for Lionel Messi to agree new terms with FC Barcelona.
It all seemed to be going swimmingly until La Liga head Javier Tebas opened his mouth on Monday.
“Barcelona have exceeded their wage cap,” said the divisive leader. “I hope they can keep [Lionel] Messi, but to do so, they will have to make cuts elsewhere.”
“The severity of the situation depends on the resources they are capable of generating," he added. “Barca have to restructure their debt. If they manage that, the situation won't be serious.”
“But they have taken their wage bill to the limit. And when football has coughed — or, better put, punctured a lung — they haven't wanted to absorb that loss of income. They must take measures.
“Of the €700m ($833.5m) losses [around La Liga], half of them are for Barcelona. There are other big clubs that have made a bigger effort to avoid it. Real Madrid have made a commendable effort to ensure their losses aren't the same as Barca, who take the trophy for losses,” Tebas finished.
At the weekend’s general assembly, Barca socios approved a Goldman Sachs loan of $625m to navigate their way through debts exceeding $1bn.
Repaid over 15 years at an interest rate of 3%, Laporta has insisted that the money will not be used to make signings, of which he has promised “three of four” more, and instead on said debts, transfer fee installments, backtaxes owed to the Hacienda and player salaries.
Yet as details of Messi’s last contract showed that he was paid almost that full amount, it remains to be seen how the president will balance the books and keep the Argentine happy with a supposed new two-year deal with an optional season.
A mass exodus of unwanted players seems the only way, but with everyone else around Europe knowing they need to sell, their hand at the negotiating table has been severely weakened.
Meanwhile Mundo Deportivo reports that panic is setting in at the Camp Nou and there is now a rush to get the Argentine to sign on the dotted line.
His contract expires on June 30, and though there would technically be no problem with him not renewing terms until after that when he returns from the Copa America in Brazil, it is not a good look for the club having their talisman of 20 years a free agent - even if it is only a matter of days.
His and Laporta’s birthdays on June 24 and 29 are still earmarked as potential announcement dates, but there is also a lot of work to be done on the legal side of things through each party’s team of lawyers.
Regardless of when they get the deal over the line, though, Barca need to sell up to tie Messi down and take advantage of more free transfers or other cut-rate stars, as the authorities are clearly keeping an eye on them and their precarious finances.
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