Lionel Messi's 'tell all' press conference scheduled for Sunday, August 8 at 12 PM IST

Lionel Messi will speak publicly at a press conference for the first time since FC Barcelona shockingly announced his departure from the club after 21 years on Thursday, August 5. The Catalan club confirmed that Messi will speak at a conference scheduled for Sunday, August 8, at 3:30 PM IST. FC Barcelona and Messi fans will undoubtedly want to hear their beloved player's side of the story.

Messi unhappy with the exit after 21 years

According to Sportsmail, Lionel Messi is still 'hurt and in a state of shock' following the news that he would be leaving the Camp Nou after serving 21 years. Even though Messi wanted to leave the club last year, it was due to a fallout with then-president Josep Maria Bartomeu rather than his loss of love for the club. However, ever since Joan Laporta was announced Barcelona's president at the beginning of the 2020/21 campaign, the Argentine seemed to have found himself in a much better space.

Exit explained by President Joan Laporta

FC Barcelona were unable to offer Lionel Messi a new contract because of La Liga's financial fair play rules. Speaking at a press conference, the club president said, "What we are spending is a lot more than we expected and the current contracts mean that we have this salary mass of great magnitude. This is all tied to fair play. La Liga doesn't follow the criteria of cash, that is why we couldn't fit in the first contract that we agreed with Leo Messi."

Joan Laporta: "Messi wanted to stay at the club"

While explaining why Lionel Messi was leaving the, Joan Laporta also made it certain that he explained that the Argentine was not leaving on his own will. Laporta added, "Leo wanted to stay at Barca. We wanted him to stay. I want to thank everyone that has been in the negotiations. There were lots of aspects that needed to be negotiated. He is the best player in the world and has other offers, of course. After all of this process, there comes a moment where you have to say 'enough'. You have to analyse it and look at the numbers. In La Liga, we have to abide by the rules. We think they could be more flexible, but that is not an excuse. We couldn't abide by it."

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