This is surely a historic day in football, as Barcelona announced that their biggest legend Lionel Messi is indeed leaving the club.
The Catalan side released a statement explaining that both parties reached an agreement for a new contract, but due to La Liga regulations, they won’t be able to make the operation doable.
Still, part of the local media insists there are other reasons why the Argentine star isn’t staying at the Camp Nou, and one of the theories includes the move of Cristian Romero from Atalanta to Tottenham Hotspur.
Mundo Deportivo says the defender’s arrival at Barcelona was a request from Messi, but the Catalan side had ‘complicated negotiations’ with the Serie A club due to economic issues.
It’s said Barcelona had offered €40m plus €10m in bonuses, and were ‘waiting for Atalanta’s response’. Messi wanted the defender after having a successful Copa America title campaign by his side, and the failure in the signing would be one of the reasons why he’s refused to sign a new contract.
Of course this is a story which doesn’t make a lot of sense, since one of the greatest players in football history wouldn’t leave a club after 20 years just because they didn’t sign one of his national teammates. Now with Romero confirming at the airport that he’s already flying to sign for Tottenham, it’s even more strange that Mundo Deportivo says that Barcelona could still sign the player.
