Barcelona could have kept Lionel Messi and have squandered his legacy through financial mismanagement, according to former presidential candidate Victor Font.
Messi left Barca to join Paris Saint-Germain in August 2021, bringing to a close his 21-year stay with the Catalan giants. He had initially agreed to sign a new five-year deal with Barcelona, but said "financial and structural obstacles" meant it could not be fulfilled.
The 36-year-old forward wanted to stay at his boyhood club and "did everything" he could to remain, by agreeing to a 50 per cent wage cut. But LaLiga's financial rules left president Joan Laporta in a difficult position and allowed PSG to swoop for the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner.
