Messi and Barcelona did everything to reunite, La Liga and FFP the villains – Romano

There appears to be no stopping Lionel Messi’s move to Inter Miami now. The Argentine ace has decided that a move to the United States is the best way forward for him and his family and an official announcement is imminent.

Yet, one knows that the story, in its entirety, is not visible on the surface. Messi deeply yearned for a return to Barcelona to cap off a stellar career, and a sudden collapse of talks with the Catalan giants is a subtle indication of a big internal mess.

According to reports from Fabrizio Romano, Messi did everything he could to play for Barcelona once more. The Blaugrana institution, for what it’s worth, also tried their level best to engineer a return until the last minute.

In the end, however, the road was blocked by La Liga and Financial Fair Play. The Catalans simply did not have enough room to accommodate the former captain and La Liga refused to entertain any concessions.

This comes as an anticlimactic end to what appeared to be a promising saga for Barcelona. Having received the green light for their economic viability plan just over 24 hours ago, it is devastating for the club to once again face the same problems they did last summer.

On that front, Gerard Pique’s stern question to Joan Laporta forces one into deep thought. As rightly stated by the former captain, it is difficult to comprehend how the economic state has not improved despite the departure of three captains who commanded some of the largest salaries on the roster.

Barcelona need to reduce their wage cap to just €400 million for the upcoming campaign and are still far off from coming under the 1:1 rule for arrivals and departures.

Messi may no longer be an option, but the club will have to sell players if they are to register other signings like Ilkay Gundogan and Inigo Martinez.