Barcelona: Messi not to blame for financial woes, says LaLiga chief
LaLiga president Javier Tebas defended Barcelona star Lionel Messi after the newspaper El Mundo published details of his big-money Camp Nou contract.
LaLiga president Javier Tebas has insisted that Barcelona's financial situation is because of the coronavirus pandemic and not Lionel Messi.
Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported on Sunday that the deal Messi signed in 2017 – due to expire at season's end – is worth more than 555 million euros over four years.
"Not Messi's fault": Tebas tweets support for Barcelona star
It comes after Messi attempted to leave Camp Nou prior to the 2020-21 campaign and amid Barça's financial woes caused by the fallout of the covid-19 crisis.
But Tebas wrote on Twitter: "The delicate financial situation of FC Barcelona (similar in other big clubs) is not Messi's fault but rather the devastating effects of COVID.
"Without a pandemic, the revenue generated by the best player in history offset that cost. Some media are not treating this issue fairly."
Messi scores 650th Barcelona goal in LaLiga win over Athletic
Messi, who has been heavily linked with Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain and Premier League giants Manchester City as his contract expires, scored his 650th Barça goal in Sunday's 2-1 LaLiga victory against Athletic Bilbao.
The six-time Ballon d'Or opened the scoring with a 20th-minute free-kick before Jordi Alba's own goal restored parity, though Griezmann secured maximum points 16 minutes from the end.
Messi has scored two direct free-kick goals from his last four attempts for Barcelona in all competitions, after scoring just one from his previous 62 attempts.
Of Messi's 650 goals for Barcelona, 49 of them have been direct free-kicks – 38 in LaLiga.
Messi has 12 goals and two assists in the league for Barça, who are second and 10 points adrift of leaders Atlético Madrid.