Lionel Messi, the legend of Argentina and PSG, has returned to Barcelona with his family this week. Last year, Messi quit his childhood club after FC Barcelona failed to renew him due to budgetary constraints. Messi and his family landed in the city of Barcelona on Wednesday for a summer vacation.
At the Barcelona airport, the 34-year-old striker was surrounded by photographers. As his wife Antonella and their three children strolled among the delighted supporters, Messi had to sign merchandised items as well. On social media, a video of Messi being greeted at the Barcelona airport went viral. Fans couldn’t help but share their delight on Twitter.
“The King is returning home,” one user remarked in the post. Messi has arrived in Barcelona.” Messi was met by Barcelona fans at the airport, according to another user. “For his summer holidays, PSG star Lionel Messi travels to Barcelona with his family and is met by adoring supporters at the airport. “As he landed down with his family in the Catalan capital on Wednesday, Messi’s family was received warmly,” said the caption of the post.
In a move to improve their financial situation, Barcelona approved the sale of a minor part of their licensing and merchandise division as well as the cession of up to 25% of revenue from their LaLiga TV rights on Thursday.
The club’s board of directors thinks that by doing so, they will be able to finish the fiscal year without losing money and boost their spending limit. Joan Laporta, the club’s president, stated that the club expects to sell up to 49.9% of retail operation Barcelona Licensing and Merchandising (BLM) for 200-300 million euros, as well as a minimum of 200 million apiece for 10% of LaLiga TV rights for the next 25 years.
The plan to sell BLM earned 89.3 percent approval in the referendum from 636 participants (only 14.2 percent of the club’s total delegates), while the TV rights agreement received 86.8 percent. “When we first arrived last year, we were in a very difficult financial condition. We couldn’t pay the payroll for May 2021 since we couldn’t afford it. “Investors wanted 200 million euros, which we didn’t have,” Laporta explained to the parliament.
“We feel that leveraging the club’s assets to create financial levers is the most effective method to re-establish Barcelona’s competitiveness.”
Barcelona had opted out of a 1.994 billion euro investment from CVC Capital Partners in LaLiga in exchange for 11% of the TV rights for the next 50 years, according to Laporta, because of the price and length of the arrangement were not acceptable to them.
“In 25 years, we want to reclaim this asset.” He stated, “The (CVC) operation that was provided was collective, and Barca have their own unique worth.” “I’m all for helping out, but right now we need to get our house in order.”
Laporta, who presided over one of Barca’s most prosperous eras between 2003 and 2010, was re-elected last year after the previous board resigned owing to the club’s deteriorating finances and other scandals. He inherited a significant financial problem aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and he was unable to re-sign club legend Lionel Messi, who left for Paris St. Germain as a free agent last summer due to LaLiga’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) laws. In August, Laporta stated that the club’s debts exceeded 1.35 billion euros, including 673 million euros owed to banks.