The truth behind Messi's departure from Barcelona called into question

Former FC Barcelona talent scout Carles Rexach, who is responsible for bringing Lionel Messi to the Camp Nou all those years ago, has made some intriguing comments about the Argentine superstar's departure last summer. Rexach has revealed that he believe there are some secrets that have yet to be told about what transpired last year.

According to Rexach, Messi deserved to play out the rest of his career at Barcelona, but for some still unknown reason, he had to make the choice to join Paris Saint-Germain last year when the Blaugrana revealed that they could not afford to offer him a contract extension.

"We still don't know the truth about Messi's exit and I'm sure it will come out in time," Rexach said, during an interview with Argentine outlet Super Radio Deportivo, as quoted by Marca.

His comments came just days after accusations surfaced stating that Barcelona veteran Gerard Pique had allegedly advised club management to let go of Messi last summer. The Spaniard was reportedly asked for his opinion on the contract renewal situation, and according to unverified reports, Pique has advised the club that it would be better for them to allow Messi to seek pastures new.

If Pique made that comment, he would not have been entirely wrong of course, with the Catalan giants struggling to stay within their salary cap until now. Nevertheless, Rexach thinks there is still more to the story, and those secrets will come out in time.

He is very knowledgeable about how things work internally at the Camp Nou, having been a player, coach, scout, sporting adviser and Johan Cruyff's assistant during his lengthy association with the club.

What's done is done, and Messi is now a PSG player. Rexach thinks that the French giants offer an entirely different dynamic within the squad, and its not entirely suited for Messi.

"Messi is suffering at PSG, it's a team of mercenaries. They don't play beautiful or spectacular football or even as a team, they win because one day up pops Neymar, the next it's Messi, then [Kylian] Mbappe, and they get it done, but they don't have an identity as a team," added Rexach.