The tears in that press room still echo at Camp Nou.
Four years later, Barcelona presidential candidate Xavier Vilajoana says Lionel Messi did not have to leave in 2021.
Speaking to World Soccer Talk, Vilajoana claims the club could have renewed Messi before June 30, 2021. According to him, failing to do so changed everything. After that date, Messi would be treated as a new signing under LaLiga‘s financial control rules, making registration far more complicated.
FC Barcelona officially confirmed Messi’s departure on August 5, 2021, citing financial and structural obstacles linked to LaLiga regulations. LaLiga president Javier Tebas later reiterated that Barça had exceeded their permitted salary mass and could not register a new deal without drastic reductions.
Vilajoana’s argument focuses on timing. He believes renewing Messi before the fiscal year closed would have altered how the contract was calculated within the salary cap framework. His central claim is that the key mistake was procedural, not purely financial.
“Definitely, yes – Messi could have been renewed…
A decision that defined an era
Messi’s exit marked the end of a 21-year relationship with the club. Within days, Paris Saint-Germain announced his signing. In 2023, he moved to Inter Miami, closing his European chapter.
At the time, Joan Laporta insisted the club had no alternative. He explained that Barcelona’s financial reality made the renewal impossible unless the club accepted LaLiga‘s proposed CVC investment agreement, which would have involved selling a portion of future media rights. Barcelona declined.
Financial reports presented to members revealed heavy losses and the activation of so-called economic levers. The club sold percentages of future revenue streams to stabilize accounts and gradually regained flexibility. Recently, Barcelona returned to LaLiga’s 1:1 spending rule, allowing them to spend one euro for every euro saved or earned. That is a significant shift from the restrictive 1:4 rule that applied during Messi’s departure.
“What this board (Laporta’s) has done in recent years is the following: they have not been able to apply the 1:1 rule since they took over, and they have accumulated losses of nearly 300 million while selling assets and bringing forward revenues worth 900 million…
Vilajoana cites nearly 300 million in accumulated losses and close to 900 million in advanced revenues over recent years. Those figures align with public financial disclosures made by the club.
The election context changes the conversation
Barcelona’s 141,390 members will elect a new president in March. Laporta is seeking reelection. Vilajoana, who previously served on Barça’s board under multiple presidents, is positioning himself as an alternative vision.
The Messi debate resonates because it symbolizes more than a contract dispute. It represents the end of Barcelona’s dominant era and the start of a rebuilding phase built around youth players such as Lamine Yamal.
“That is not opinion, those are official club figures… This board has been incapable, over all these years, of rethinking the model…
Vilajoana did not soften his language when addressing the issue. “Definitely, yes – Messi could have been renewed.” He added that failing to act before the June 30 deadline was “negligence.”
The debate now centers on whether the crisis was unavoidable or mishandled.
Analysts across Spanish sports media have long argued that inherited debt and wage commitments left little room for maneuver in 2021. Others believe that earlier planning could have improved the club’s flexibility.
Barcelona looking ahead to March
The presidential campaign will intensify in the coming months. Messi’s departure, once seen as a closed chapter, is back at the center of the debate.
The problem is that [Messi] was not renewed before June 30, 2021. From that point on, he became a new signing. That is a very important factor, because from there the 1+1 rule came into play in a different way…
Laporta continues to defend the 2021 decision as necessary to protect the club’s long-term survival. Vilajoana presents it as a missed opportunity rooted in timing and strategy.
Barcelona’s members will soon decide which interpretation shapes the next chapter of the club’s history.
“An attempt was made to renew [Messi] as a new signing. This was negligence on the part of the president (Joan Laporta) and the board of directors. Negligence…
This article is based on statements made by Xavier Vilajoana to World Soccer Talk, official FC Barcelona communications from August 2021, LaLiga financial regulations, and publicly presented club financial reports. Additional contextual information comes from established sports media coverage in Spain and Europe.
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