Carles Tusquets, the interim president of La Liga side Barcelona, has defended recent comments he made about Lionel Messi’s future at the club. He adamantly stood by the facts of his stance that the club would be “better off” financially had the Argentinian superstar left.

Messi’s future in Camp Nou has been a subject of nonstop speculation. This summer, it went into overdrive with the Blaugrana talisman openly admitting his desire to leave Camp Nou and informing the club via fax. But, he rescinded that decision to avoid legal implications regarding a breach of contract.

Tusquets is currently acting as interim president, following the departure of Josep Maria Bartomeu, until the club’s presidential elections on Sunday, January 24, 2021.

The 69-year-old recently suggested he would have sold Messi in the summer. Faced with reactions from within and outside the club, he has quickly moved to clarify his comments, claiming he meant the club would have been in a better position financially had they sold the Argentina international.

“I didn’t say that I would’ve sold Messi; I said that, financially, him leaving would been good for the club.

“We’d be better off because we said that his salary is the highest in the world. Nothing could be truer. But I’m nobody, the decision is his and the managing board cannot take these decisions.”

One of those who did not receive the comments well within the Barcelona camp was manager Ronald Koeman. The coach claimed that such remarks “don’t help us [Barcelona] to have peace of mind”.

Tusquets, on the other hand, argues that his comments have been misinterpreted by Koeman.

“If it’s necessary, I’ll tell Koeman that he has misunderstood what I said. I was just doing the Maths. What Messi generates for the club makes up for the cost [of his contract], but Barcelona aren’t dependant on just one person.”

It remains unclear where Messi’s future lies with some speculating that the talented 33-year-old might be bidding his time for a new president to take the helm at the Catalan club so as to know what the future strategy of the club is before deciding if to leave or remain.

Recently, as reported, Neymar caused a stir when he declared his desire to reunite with Messi, wanting both of them to play alongside each other again as early as next year. It remains to be seen how that will play out as Messi’s current deal expires in the summer.

TodayNG