Barcelona President Joan Laporta has accepted the reality of the exit of its legendary player, Lionel Messi.
He said Messi was the best in the club’s history but added that life continued even after his exit.
He noted that the management had always known that Messi had other offers while negotiations with him lasted but it exploited all flexibility until it realised the game was over.
He said: “Leo wanted to stay at Barca. We wanted him to stay.
“I want to thank everyone that has been in the negotiations. There were lots of aspects that needed to be negotiated.
“He is the best player in the world and has other offers, of course.
“After all of this process, there comes a moment where you have to say ‘enough’. You have to analyse it and look at the numbers.
“In La Liga we have to abide by the rules. We think they could be more flexible, but that is not an excuse. We couldn’t abide by it.
“Leo deserves everything. He has proven that he loves Barca. He has his roots in Barcelona. I’m sad but I’m convinced we have done the best for the interests of Barcelona.”
Laporta added: “Leo’s legacy is excellent, he has made history. He is the player with the most success in the history of the club. I hope we can overcome this situation.
“A new era starts now. There will be before and after Leo, as there was with other great players in the history of Barca.”
Laporta, though, concedes that fresh terms for the modern-day icon are now highly unlikely, with the path cleared for him to enter into discussions with other teams.
He said: “I don’t want to generate false hope.
“During the course of negotiations we know that the player has had other offers. There was a time limit.
“If fair play continues to be rigid, the player needs some time to see what he is going to do and look at other options.
“We have been at it for two months and have gone through different stages. The first agreement was two years. Then we agreed a five-year contract.
“We were all thinking of two years and, if he wanted more, we could sit and negotiate. We wanted the era of post-Messi to start in two years, but we have had to bring that forward.”
“Leo wanted to stay, so he is not happy. For him right now, it is a situation where he has to confront reality that can’t be changed. He knows that I wish him the best wherever he goes. Barca is his home.
“I wanted to be here with Leo today, but we have to live in the real world. I like to dream, but this is the reality of what has happened. Right now, it is not easy.”
The Blaugrana have to abide by salary cap restrictions in the Spanish top tier, with that preventing them from putting another big-money deal in place with a prominent member of a star-studded squad.
“The rules and regulations of the Spanish La Liga is regulated by Financial Fair Play and we don’t have any margin.
“We knew that when we got to the club, but the numbers that have been presented to us, they are a lot worse than were exposed initially and those that we were working with. That means that the losses are more than we had expected.
“What we are spending is a lot more than we expected and the current contracts mean that we have this salary mass of great magnitude.
“This is all tied to fair play. La Liga doesn’t follow the criteria of cash, that is why we couldn’t fit in the first contract that we agreed with Leo Messi.”
