La Liga is financially prepared to deal with Lionel Messi’s departure from Barcelona, said president Javier Tebas. Messi is in the final four months of his contract at Barcelona and has still not renewed or signed a new contact. He tried to force a move away from the club last summer before the attempt was blocked by the club. The 33-year-old Argentine has already held talks with Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain over a possible move in the summer. New Barcelona president Joan Laporta has also spoken about trying to make Messi sign a new contract and extend his stay at the club. Lionel Messi Named La Liga Player of the Month for February 2021, Argentine Scores Seven Goals in Five Appearances.

Tebas, however, believes La Liga is financially secure enough to withstand any harm. The Spanish league has dealt a massive 2 billion Euros loss last season due to the coronavirus pandemic but Tebas believes the league has enough assurances to deal with Messi’s departure. “(Messi) couldn’t leave Barcelona because of an agreement in his contract, but as I said about Cristiano [Ronaldo], we also are prepared financially for this moment," Tebas was quoted as saying by Goal to Egyptian cable channel ONsport. ‘Lionel Messi Loves Barcelona, Clear Sign He Will Stay’, Says New Club President Joan Laporta After Election Win.

"Cristiano leaving Real Madrid was a decision made by the club. I don’t have the right to say anything, but I always prefer to have the best players in La Liga, the same happened with Neymar before. Cristiano was the ultimate goalscorer in La Liga and we were affected by his departure, but financial the impact was minimal because we prepared well for this moment,” he added.

Moments after being elected the new Barcelona president, Laporta sent Messi a message in his victory speech. "Seeing Lionel Messi coming to vote today, seeing him taking part, that is very telling," said the new president. Messi was among the first Barcelona players to arrive at Camp Nou to vote on Sunday.

“Twenty years ago a little boy called Leo Messi made his debut with Barca’s youth team. Seeing the best player in the world come out to vote today is a clear sign of what we keep saying. Leo loves Barca,” said Laporta. Messi had made his Barcelona debut during Laporta’s first stint at the club’s president in 2004. “The best player in the world loves Barca and I hope that is a sign that he will stay at Barcelona, which is what we all want,” Laporta added.

He had overseen a huge successful spell for the club in his first stint as the club’s head. Laporta had appointed Pep Guardiola as the head coach in 2008 sparking a dominant run in Europe which saw them win two UEFA Champions League titles and three La Liga trophies among other titles.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 09, 2021 06:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).