Victor Fonte, who ran for Barcelona's president last year, claimed that the club could have kept Messi last summer. He added that if he wins the election, Barcelona plans to offer Messi a Jordan-style contract.
Laporta replaced Bartomeu last year and became the new club chairman of Barcelona. However, Laporta failed to keep Messi at Camp Nou. Barcelona was unable to renew the contract with the striker for some reason, and Messi eventually transferred freely and joined the French Ligue 1 giant Paris Saint-Germain. In an interview with Daily Sports, Fonte claimed there are many ways to keep Messi at Barcelona. He said they plan to offer the Argentinian a Jordan-style contract, Messi's brand, which can earn $5 billion (converted to 33.5 billion) annually at Barcelona.
Fonte said: Our plan to save Messi is unique, reducing salary and losses in the first year, and propose a "retirement agreement." A few days ago, I saw news that the Jordan brand's revenue this year exceeded US$5 billion (converted to 33.5 billion). Jordan himself will earn $150 million a year, which is more than any NBA's current income and more than what he earns when he plays. Messi will definitely like my contract renewal plan, because it will make him the "spiritual totem" of Barcelona, and we urgently need to re-establish this connection!
Last week, in an interview with TV stations, Fonte insisted that the club had no need to give up their "most precious assets" last summer. Fonte bombarded Laporta: We could have renewed our contract with Messi, but the club has no plans for him, everything is temporarily pieced together!
Some media broke the news that Messi's sky-high contract put the Barcelona club in a financial crisis, and Fonte quickly defended the Argentinian. He said bluntly: Messi brings extremely high income, and Barcelona's losses are not worth mentioning in the face of the money Messi makes! Messi is Barcelona's most valuable asset, and Messi is more important than any Barcelona chairman!
When talking about Barcelona's hiring Xavi as head coach, Fonte said: We saw changes in the first game, I talked to him about football, and listening to him is a pleasure. This only happened to me and him and Guardiola. Xavi's football philosophy is very stylish!
This summer, Barcelona brought in Casey (signed from AC Milan) and Christensen (signed from Chelsea) and are working to sign more players in the coming weeks. So in the end, what do you want to say? I am Beta. Welcome all fans and friends to leave comments and discuss.
