Barcelona contract disaster: What really caused Messi's departure?

Much has been said about the breakdown of Lionel Messi's contract talks with FC Barcelona. New details have emerged claiming that there is more to it than the simple fact that the club can't re-sign the player due to La Liga Santander's financial fair play regulations.

While rumours are rife that the Argentine will soon be finalising a deal with French giants Paris Saint-Germain, many are still demanding answers from Barcelona, especially club members who voted for Joan Laporta under the premise that he will make sure that Messi stays.

In Barcelona's statement released on Thursday about Messi's departure, they confirmed the news that came out weeks ago. The club and the player have supposedly agreed to the terms of a new deal, but Barcelona claims that La Liga's regulations are the main reason behind the final breakdown of the renewal.

However, according to Marca, football-centred Spanish programme "El Chiringuito" has revealed some shocking details about the real reasons why the deal did not materialise. According to them, Messi and his father/agent Jorge arrived at a meeting with the club with the full belief that the previously agreed terms will be signed on Thursday.

As previously reported, that new deal involves a 40% pay cut plus the 10% cut he already agreed upon at the end of 2020. However, Leo and Jorge Messi were reportedly blindsided by the club, who presented them with a deal that called for a massive salary reduction of 70%.

Jorge Messi was left completely livid and frustrated, as he never expected the club to further amend their previous agreement. Club vice president Rafael Yuste was said to be at the receiving end of some scathing comments from Messi senior.

"Are you joking?, It's not about the money, because my son already made an effort to reduce his salary. We've been negotiating for two months and we're making the renewal official tomorrow [Friday]. Are you doing this to us? I didn't expect this from you," he reportedly said.

Laporta did not escape the wrath, with Jorge reportedly accusing him of using Messi in order to win the presidential elections back in March. Laporta assured club members that his main mission would be to convince Messi to stay, and he had stuck to the same song up until the final announcement of the player's departure was actually made. Thereafter, he placed the blame largely on La Liga, whose regulations he wanted to bend.