FC Barcelona still owes Messi payments until 2025, admits Laporta

FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta has been dealing with the arduous task of getting the club's finances back in order. He inherited over a billion euros in debt when he took over the club's presidency in 2021, and has since been using every possible tactic to generate cash. He has made some headway into digging the club out of its massive debt, but he has recently revealed that the club also still owes Lionel Messi back payments which are not expected to be paid off until 2025.

How did the club end up being indebted to Messi?

From a moral point of view, it is clear that FC Barcelona owe a lot to their former captain and vice versa. From a financial standpoint, the club still owes the player an undisclosed amount. The Argentine left the club officially in the summer of 2021 after the club failed to offer him a contract extension. The simple reason was that they could not afford to keep him and stay within the bounds of La Liga's Financial Fair Play regulations. He then signed with Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain FC, thus ending his association with the club that lasted for over two decades.

However, Laporta admitted that the Blaugrana are still paying Messi due to arrangements made during the height of the club's financial troubles. It may be remembered that when news first broke about the club's massive debts, a lot of cost-cutting measures were implemented. The wage bill was slashed across the entire organisation, and players were offered new contracts that included deferred payment schemes.

The club struggled to sell and offload many of their high earners in the first team, but nearly all the important stars agreed to reduced salaries or revised payment schemes. Therefore, even though he left the club two years ago, Messi is still being paid by Barcelona and will continue to receive payments until 2025.

"What is owed to him is the deferral of wages that was agreed with the previous board and that produces outstanding payments that end in 2025," Laporta said in an interview with La Vanguardia.

Messi's decision to skip Barcelona comeback

Almost as soon as Messi signed with PSG in 2021, the talks about a possible comeback never died down. Fans dreamt of seeing him back at the Camp Nou, and many thought that could happen as early as this summer. However, the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner opted to sign with Major League Soccer (MLS) side Inter Miami instead.

The move came as a big shock despite Barcelona being very vocal about their efforts to bring back their club legend. Messi is also believed to have rejected a massively lucrative offer from Saudi Arabia to go for a calmer stint in the MLS.

In the same interview, Laporta said: "We had an agreement with LaLiga that we would dedicate part of the resources we have to Messi. It was included in the viability plan. We communicated it to Jorge Messi, who told me that Messi had had a very difficult year in Paris and that he wanted less pressure."

The club president then admitted that returning to the Camp Nou would have placed Messi under an immense amount of pressure. He would have been expected to help bring the club back to its glory days on the pitch and also to help lift the club's profile from a commercial standpoint.

"With our option, he would have continued to be under pressure and I understood his decision [to go to Inter Miami," said Laporta. Despite the Argentine's decision to head to the United States, Barcelona have not given up hope that they would welcome him back in the near future. Laporta confirmed that they are still preparing a "major tribute" for Messi, which he aims to include in the club's 125th anniversary celebrations in 2024.

Laporta on Xavi's contract

Now that Messi's immediate future has been determined, Barcelona want to make sure that they can at least convince their manager to stay. Xavi Hernandez arrived midway through the 2021-22 season, and has since been neck deep in a rebuilding project.

In the recently concluded season, he managed to lead the club to the La Liga title, and Barcelona are keen to see him stay for at least another two seasons. Laporta knows that the club has limited resources to offer, but he trusts that Xavi is willing to compromise both in his own salary negotiations and in the transfer market.

"[Xavi] understands the club's situation. He would like to strengthen the midfield, but he knows that some options are unfeasible and it would be wrong [if we signed them]. He wants to continue and there will be no problem," assured Laporta.

However, a contradicting report from Cadena SER claims that the club and the manager are far from reaching an agreement on the contract extension. Xavi is believed to be seeking at least €30 million (£25.7 million) gross salary for himself and his coaching staff, but the club's latest offer has not met the figure.