Barcelona captain Lionel Messi will leave the club if he does not accept a pay cut, presidential candidate Emili Rousaud has said. He added that the interests of the club come first though they would want the six-time Ballon d’Or winner to stay, Goal.com reported.
“We’ll have to sit down with Messi and ask him to make a salary cut,” Rousaud told Catalan daily newspaper ARA. “Right now, with things as they are, it’s unsustainable. We’ll ask him to make the sacrifice. If there’s no agreement, then Messi will leave.”
“I believe that things have to be said as they are. We can’t fool our members. We’ll make every effort to ensure he stays, but always with the interests of the club first,” he further said.
Following Josep Maria Bartomeu’s resignation in October, Rousaud is in the running for the presidential election which will take place on January 24.
“Messi has written the most brilliant pages in the club’s history. We have to honour our legends, but the reality is what it is,” he added.
Messi’s request for a transfer had created ripples across Barcelona after speculations over his future at Camp Nou gathered steam following a forgettable season and the subsequent fall-out with the previous club president Bartomeu.
Barcelona suffered a humiliating defeat against Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals, losing 8-2. It was one of the worst defeats in Messi’s career.
The 33-year-old was tipped to join Manchester City before deciding to stay with Barcelona for another season in order to avoid legal disputes with the club.
Messi has scored 449 goals in La Liga, just one goal shy of becoming the first player to reach 450 with just one club in the top five European leagues.