Bartomeu: €400m Messi Bid Almost Broke Barcelona
Former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has revealed that weeks after Neymar’s record €222m move in 2017, Barcelona received credible intelligence of a looming €400m bid for Lionel Messi. Bartomeu ruled out Manchester City and suggested the suitor was backed by state funds from an Arab country. To counter the threat, his administration raised Messi’s release clause to €700m and significantly increased his salary. That deal swelled Barcelona’s wage bill, deepening the club’s debt and playing a key role in its financial collapse. The mounting losses later forced Messi’s free-transfer departure to PSG in 2021.
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