Friday, March 29, 2024 | Ramadan 18, 1445 H
clear sky
weather
OMAN
25°C / 25°C
EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Barca won’t break bank to keep Messi

897014
897014
minus
plus

BARCELONA: Barcelona won’t put their financial future at risk in negotiating a new contract for Lionel Messi, the club warned on Wednesday, in comments that will encourage his many suitors across Europe.


Messi and club captain Andres Iniesta are entering the final 18 months of their current deals at the Camp Nou meaning they would be free to talk to other clubs in a year’s time if they don’t extend their contracts in 2017.


Despite posting a record turnover of 679 million euros ($719 million) last season, a series of expensive new contracts for the likes of Neymar and Luis Suarez mean Barcelona are close to overstepping the 70 per cent limit of turnover spent on salaries imposed by Uefa’s financial fair-play laws.


“We have to be very strict with the budgets, we can’t go crazy,” said Barcelona CEO Oscar Grau, confirming that the Catalan giants have no plans to strengthen the squad in the January transfer window. “We need to comply with the ratios of debt and the percentage of salaries in the budget.”


Five-time World Player of the Year Messi, 29, and Iniesta, 32, have been at the club since they were teenagers and have been the cornerstones of the most glorious period in Barcelona’s history, each winning eight Spanish league titles and four Champions Leagues.


“We want the best player in history to remain here at Barcelona and we want to renew the players that have been brought through here. They are the best and they should retire at home,” added Grau. “We have to analyse it. We are working with common sense and discretion. We want Messi to stay and we will find the way, I am sure. I want to calm all Barcelona members.”


Any new deal for Messi is likely to see him usurp Cristiano Ronaldo, who recently extended his Real Madrid deal to 2021.


The pressure on Barca’s salaries is set to be eased when bumper new shirt-sponsorship deals with Japanese retailer Rakuten and kit manufacturer Nike worth an estimated 210 million euros a year kick in from next season and 2018 respectively. Meanwhile, the start date for a major redevelopment of the Camp Nou has been delayed from later this year to July 2018.


‘Common sense’


Barcelona striker Luis Suarez has hit back at comments by the club’s CEO that the Catalan giants won’t “go crazy” when negotiating a new contract for five-time World Player of the Year Lionel Messi.


Barca CEO Oscar Grau said on Wednesday that a new deal for Messi, who only has 18 months left on his current deal, was being negotiated with “common sense and discretion”.


“With Messi what you have to do is give him a new contract, not have common sense,” said Suarez after netting his 100th Barca goal in just 120 appearances as they progressed to the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey with a 3-1 win over Athletic Bilbao.


Despite posting a record turnover of 679 million euros ($719 million) last season, a series of expensive new contracts for the likes of Neymar and Suarez mean Barcelona are close to overstepping the 70 per cent limit of turnover spent on salaries imposed by Uefa’s financial fair-play laws. Barca captain Andres Iniesta also has just 18 months left to run on his contract.


On the field, Messi proved the match-winner once again on Wednesday as he scored from a free-kick for the third time in as many games this year 11 minutes from time to edge out Athletic 4-3 on aggregate. “I don’t know what the CEO said, but tell me one game in which Leo Messi hasn’t been decisive,” said Barca coach Luis Enrique. “I don’t know about numbers, I know about football. We all want to enjoy watching Messi here for many more years, nothing else matters for me.” — AFP


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon