Barcelona presidential candidate: "Messi's salary cannot be sustained"

Former Barcelona vice-president Emili Rousaud wants to sign two superstars but thinks Messi’s wages are incompatible with the club’s financial situation.

The Catalan giants will elect a new president on January 24th as Josep Maria Bartomeu announced his resignation last October. One of the Blaugrana’s presidential candidates presented Spanish news outlet AS with some of his view’s for the club’s future.

Emili Rousaud believes Barcelona should rebuild their squad, as the latest results reveal a deep crisis within the group. The 54-year-old businessman expressed his wishes on fortifying the team, starting with Neymar’s signing. However, this will be proven difficult as Barca’s new president will only have one week to negotiate before the transfer market closes.

Nevertheless, Barcelona’s biggest star will likely decide the Catalan club’s elections. The ‘Cules’ clearly want Lionel Messi to stay at the club. Therefore, it is logical to assume most will vote for the candidate who best assures such an outcome.

For this reason, Rousaud’s latest declarations may raise some question marks for the voters. The candidate believes Messi wants to leave for sporting reasons, not financial. That being the case, the highest-paid footballer in the world should reconsider his contract conditions in order to make way for new blood.

“Obviously, with the actual situation at the club, Messi’s salary cannot be sustained. It’s unsustainable. We would need to reach an agreement. The project which we will present to him is an attractive one.”

Lionel Messi 'WILL leave Barcelona if he doesn't take a pay cut on his £500,000-per-week wages' when contract talks finally start, claims Nou Camp presidential candidate Emili Rousaud as Manchester City prepare to pounce for the Argentine star.

Who Loses?
The Club Or Messi. pic.twitter.com/DsCwbOEvoC
— Mark Dsoulja Otabor (@mark_otabor) December 14, 2020

Camp Nou to be renamed.

Additionally, Rousaud has another trick up his sleeve. If he wins the election, the businessman intends to name Camp Nou after Messi.

“Ask any brand in the world if they would like to be associated with Messi. In general, we tend to not give our legends a good send-off and right now we have the biggest of them all. Having said that, the club member would need to approve it. We would need to consult them and find out what Messi wants.”