Barcelona Bombshell: Why the Spanish club is still paying for Messi

"We have pending payments to Messi until 2025." This is the bombshell dropped Joan Laporta dropped this week, and the reverberations are from it are likely to be felt for years to come.

The president of FC Barcelona, in an interview with 'La Vanguardia', made the shock admission on July 3 and caught a lot of people off guard, including the Catalan fans themselves.

For years, Barca fans dreamed of the return of Leo Messi to what was always his home, until he sensationally chose to pursue a deal in the MLS at Inter Miami. It was a tough pill to swallow for Barcelona fans all around the world.

So the news that club will continue to pay him until 2025, despite playing thousands of kilometers away, is hardly going to go down a treat either. Let's explore what's going on.

If the FC Barcelona finances have been in question for some time, adding this type of expense does not help too much, even if he is the best player in the club's history.

And let's not forget Messi has been out of the Blaugrana club since 2021. That is to say, it is not just two seasons that Messi is still getting paid for despite playing elsewhere, it's actually four!

Joan Laporta has elaborated (albeit briefly) on the payments to Messi and the justification for the club's decision.

"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 acknowledged.

Curiously Laporta said that while, "he is paid religiously" and his salary is line with what you'd expect a top-level player would make, it was not subject to Financial Fair Play rules because the club allegedly made "an agreement with La Liga that we would dedicate part of the resources we have to Messi. It was contemplated within the feasibility plan," Laporta said.

Laporta acknowledged that LaLiga agreed to this to encourage a possible return of Messi to FC Barcelona, aware of the positive impact it would have had on the competition.

It is not known how much the outstanding payments could be, but the deferral was agreed when Messi had only 18 months left on his contract. At the time he was on a reported €138million per year.

In that case, why did he end up going to Miami? Basically because of the pressure. "Leo had spent a very difficult year in Paris and wanted less pressure. I understood his decision."

Even though Messi has seemingly turned his back on the club, Laporta clearly isn't feeling jilted, and stated that FC Barcelona is organising "super tribute" to Messi "in the framework of the 125th anniversary and when we return to the Camp Nou would be perfect."