History for the world of football was recorded as of Thursday, August 5, 2021, a local time where Lionel Messi decided to move from Barcelona, the club he has defended for 20 years since ‘graduated’ from La Masia, the school academy Barcelona football.
Messi certainly has reasons to move from Barcelona. La Pulga’s contract, the nickname for Lionel Messi, actually ended on June 30, 2021. However, there is still a gap until August 31 which is used as a transfer window for clubs in Europe.
The process of running Messi’s contract so far has gone back and forth. Various rumors have sprung up to accompany the news of whether or not the Argentine football captain will stay in Barcelona.
To maintain the star who had just led Argentina to the 2021 Copa America champion at Camp Nou, FC Barcelona did everything possible.
Messi is even willing to cut his salary by 50 percent to stay in Barcelona. But finally, Barcelona and Messi gave up.
Messi’s arrival to Spain after a long holiday to sign a new contract ended with Barcelona’s announcement of the end of Messi’s contract.
Why Lionel Messi Moved
Why did Messi move? The reasons that surfaced in the player transfer market were because of the new rules [regulations] set by the Spanish La Liga regarding the limitation of spending on player salaries which had an impact on Barcelona’s financial problems.
The Catalan giants’ financial crisis forced them to sell several players with big salaries to comply with the regulations of the Spanish League football authority.
Unfortunately, the salaries of Barcelona players are very high. So despite trying to sell players, there has been no response from other European clubs.
Another reason why Lionel Messi left Barca, was stated by the Spanish national daily sports newspaper, Mundo Deportivo.
According to Mundo Deportivo, one of the main reasons for the failure of Messi’s new contract was because Barcelona was unable to bring in Messi’s teammate when Argentina won the 2021 Copa America, Cristian Romero, who took the position of Atalanta center-back.
Cristian Romero, who is the best defender in the Italian League 2020-2021, finally landed at Tottenham Hotspur with a transfer value of 55 million Euros.
Not without reason, Messi asked for it.
Because so far the holder of 6 Ballon d’Or has asked Barcelona to improve the back row of the Blaugrana.
The arrival of Memphis Depay, Sergio Aguero, and Eric Garcia has also not been able to convince Messi about Barcelona’s competitive strength later.
Barcelona Announces Messi Officially Terminated Contract
Through its official website, FCB, the name FC Barcelona makes several explanations regarding their termination of their contract with Lionel Messi.
“Although FC Barcelona and Lionel Messi intended and had reached an agreement to sign a contract for both parties, this was not possible due to financial and structural barriers,” read a statement on Barca’s official website.
Lionel Messi’s record with Barcelona
Lionel Messi will leave Barcelona with a fantastic record and deserves to be called a Barca Legend. From 778 games, Messi has scored 672 goals in various competitions.
Here are the details of Messi’s record while wearing Jersey no. Barcelona’s 10
Most Goals
| League | GOAL | Competition |
| La Liga | 474 | 520 |
| Champions League | 120 | 149 |
| Copa del Rey | 56 | 80 |
| Europa Super Cup | 3 | 4 |
| Club World Cup | 5 | 5 |
| Spain Super Cup | 14 | 20 |
| TOTAL | 672 | 778 |
Top Score Most Spanish LeagueTop Scorer
La Pulga even sits at the top as the holder of the Spanish LeagueCup, which is 8 times.
6 European Golden Shoe Trophy
Messi has made history by being named the most European Golden Shoe recipient. Messi won it in the 2009-10, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons.
Another player who can compete with this acquisition is Cristiano Ronaldo. The former Real Madrid player and now playing at Juventus has collected 4 European Golden Shoe Cups.
Most Goals Collection in a Season An
expert on the ball and free kicks, Lionel Messi, who is familiarly called Leo, has scored 79 goals in one season with Barcelona, namely the 2012 season.
59 goals were created in the Spanish League, 13 goals in the Champions League, 5 goals in the Copa Del Rey, and 2 goals in the European Super Cup.
If the same season is added with goals scored by Messi with Argentina, then there are a total of 91 goals in one calendar year.
This record seems to be difficult for other players to break.
3 Times Top Score PLUS Top Assist
One of the extraordinary skills of Lionel Messi is being able to score goals as well as being a very brilliant and productive feeder (provider of assists) for his colleagues to produce goals.
So far, only Messi has been able to record the scoreboard as the TOP SCORING as well as the TOP Assist in the Spanish League.
Amazing! Messi repeated it three times.
| La Liga | Top Score | Top Assist |
| 2011-2012 | 50 goals | 15 assist |
| 2017-2018 | 34 goals | 12 assist |
| 2019-2020 | 25 goals | 21 assist |
6 Ballon d’Or
Becoming the best player in the world is every footballer’s dream. And Messi has been recognized as the world’s best player 6 times through receiving 6 Ballon d’Or Cups.
This record was achieved by Messi with Barcelona in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, and 2019. Messi is even reportedly a strong candidate for the 7th Ballon d’Or Trophy at the end of 2021 for successfully leading Argentina to win the 2021 Copa America after winning over Brazil in the Final, as well as being the Top Scorer and Top Assist of the 2021 Copa America.
Messi’s closest competitor to the Ballon d’Or is Cristiano Ronaldo. CR7, Ronaldo’s nickname, has collected 5 Ballon d’Or trophies.
Lionel Messi’s salary in Barcelona
Lionel Messi’s salary is indeed the highest, not only in Barcelona but in the world.
Barcelona is known to have several star players and is generous in providing high salaries. In the 2019/2020 season, the salary paid by the Blaugrana reached 671 million Euros.
However, in the 2020/2021 season, financial difficulties and La Liga’s new rules limit the award of player salaries. So Barcelona can only spend half of the usual 382.8 million Euros.
How much was Messi’s salary and contract at Barcelona before deciding to leave Barcelona?
Recorded in 2017, Messi got a contract of 550 million euros until 2021.
According to Salary Sport, Messi gets a salary of 1 million euros, equivalent to Rp. 17 billion per week. If it is calculated a year, Messi’s salary reaches 52 million euros or Rupiah 881 billion.
The number 10 player is the highest salary earner in Barcelona.
Compared with players with no salary. 2nd tallest at Barca, Antoine Griezmann. The former Atletico Madrid striker earns almost half the salary of Messi, which is 594 thousand euros.
The following are the top 10 highest salaries for Barcelona players in 2021, calculated annually in billion Rupiah.
- Lionel Messi 881
- Antoine Griezmann 523
- Philippe Coutinho 358
- Sergio Busquets 239
- Miralem Pjanic 239
- Ousmane Dembele 187
- Samuel Umtiti 187
- Jordi Alba 187
- Frenkie de Jong 155
- Sergio Roberto 155
The nominal has been converted from Euro to Rupiah based on today’s average exchange rate, Friday 6 August 2021. (Source: Salary Sport)
Lionel Messi Signs Contract at PSG
With a free transfer status, Lionel Messi has become a bone of contention for many giant and wealthy clubs.
The two clubs most frequently mentioned are Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
If Messi joins Manchester City, he will reunite with former Barca coach who is now coaching City, Pep Guardiola, as well as increasing competition in the Premier League.
Meanwhile, if he joins PSG, Messi will reunite with Neymar, who used to play together at Barcelona and was able to create ‘violence‘ on the front lines with Luis Suarez, who is known as the MSN Trio (Messi, Suarez, Neymar).
But finally, the issue of where Messi will graze is answered. La Pulga decided to sign a contract with PSG.
Reportedly the captain of the Argentine national team is contracted for 2 years with the option of an extension of 1 year.
Lionel Messi will receive a salary of 35 million euros per year from Les Parisian. But, when compared to the latest offers at Barca, the amount of Messi’s salary at PSG is greater. And this is the highest salary in Ligue 1, the French League surpassing Neymar who is only around 31 million euros per year.
