Tennis great Rafael Nadal has weighed in on the ongoing furor surrounding Lionel Messi’s contractual situation with Barcelona.
Nadal is a self-professed football fan, with Real Madrid the club of his heart. But he took time to express his thoughts on the Argentine’s future, as he continues to be linked with a transfer.
āIn the end there is a player who is undoubtedly one of the best in history and he charges what the club has been willing to pay him. From there there is no debate I think.
”The club has considered that Messi is just deserving to collect this and the club is the one that will have to deal with its finances and its future is with Leo or not.”
Nadal has enjoyed great success in his chosen field, with 20 Grand Slams won in his career. He is also known as the ‘King of Clay’ owing to his unprecedented dominance at Rolland Garros.
He has, however, expressed his admiration for football and revealed that he once harbored thoughts of playing football professionally.
What next for Lionel Messi and Barcelona after contract leak?
The dust has slowly begun to settle after the ground-breaking revelation of Lionel Messi’s contract which showed what he truly earned at Barcelona. Many consider it to have been a leak from the Catalans in a bid to place the blame for the club’s disastrous financial position on Lionel Messi.
Barcelona have since come out to absolve themselves of any blame and threatened to take legal action against the newspaper that published the leak.
Nevertheless, it is highly unlikely that Lionel Messi will continue his 20-year association with the Blaugrana at the expiration of his current deal.
The upcoming presidential elections might factor in his decision to remain at the club. However, from a financial perspective, it is highly untenable for Barcelona to continue offsetting their captain’s hefty salary.
In hindsight, it might have been more feasible for the Catalans to have counted their losses and let him leave last summer. But having failed to do so, the new man elected to steady the ship must go about the arduous task of planning for life post-Messi.
A perfect send-off would have seen Barcelona winning a couple of trophies to bid Lionel Messi farewell. However, the club’s current situation means that there is no guarantee that any trophy would be won this season.
Published 07 Feb 2021, 18:22 IST
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