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Lionel Messi left Barcelona after a 20-year stint this summer to sign for French powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain. The Catalan giants made a U-turn in the eleventh hour and went back on offering him a deal. Barcelona financial guarantor Jose Elias told La Sotana that he believed three reasons made keeping Lionel Messi unreasonable. He said:
"The salary structure of the club: we had to face certain salary cuts that would have been difficult to defend [had they given Messi a bumper new deal]. Secondly, we did not have the money to pay him and we were bending over backwards to pay him in installments, which is what Paris Saint-Germain are now doing. You have to be kidding yourself to think that is sustainable."
He added that Messi's age was also a factor. He added:
"And thirdly there was the need to generate a new team and some fresh excitement and with Messi you could not do it. He is of a certain age to not be at Barca."
Elias also pointed out that the club should have let Lionel Messi go earlier, adding:
"If we had let Messi go a year earlier, we would have made some money. If we had taken €100 million, I would have been very happy with that, all things considered."
Lionel Messi requested a move the previous year after a disagreement with disgraced former president Josep Bartomeu, but Barcelona held on to Messi.
Elias' comments are notably controversial because of how they contrast with Barcelona's recent signing, Dani Alves, who is 38 years old.
Lionel Messi and Iniesta could return: Barcelona president
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has noted that Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta could return to the club, citing the recent return of Dani Alves:
“I don’t rule anything out. It happened with Dani - age is [just] a number. They’re two great players. I can’t predict what will happen tomorrow, they’re still playing and contracted to other clubs. You never know what happens in life."
